Official | Waldemar Anton withdraws from Germany squad, Ridle Baku earns late call-up

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Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp has recalled RB Leipzig’s Ridle Baku to the national team after Borussia Dortmund defender Waldemar Anton withdrew from the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Serbia and the Netherlands. Dortmund confirmed on Sunday afternoon that the 30-year-old centre-back would be unavailable for international duty because of muscular problems. The German Football Association subsequently announced that Baku would replace Anton in Klopp’s squad.

The development comes just three days after Klopp announced his original 24-man squad for November’s international fixtures. Baku was among several prominent players omitted from the original selection, despite featuring in Klopp’s first Germany squad during the September and October international window. Baku did not end up logging any minutes in Klopp’s first four fixtures in charge of die Nationalmannschaft.

The 28-year-old Leipzig defender has recently demonstrated his attacking qualities at club level, scoring in Wednesday’s 3-2 Champions League defeat against Manchester City. He also started Saturday’s 5-2 Bundesliga victory over Augsburg. Overall, Baku has scored three goals and contributed one assist in 13 appearances for Leipzig across all competitions this season.

Brajan Gruda arrives at Germany camp in outstanding form

Baku’s Leipzig teammate Brajan Gruda will also join Klopp’s squad following an outstanding individual performance in Saturday’s 5-2 victory over Augsburg. The 22-year-old attacking midfielder recorded two assists inside the space of two minutes, setting up Ezechiel Banzuzi’s 34th-minute equalizer before providing an excellent chipped pass for Christopher Nkunku to put Leipzig ahead.

Gruda ultimately finished with five chances created, ten successful dribbles from eleven attempts, and eleven successful ground duels from thirteen contests. He was subsequently voted the Bundesliga’s Player of the Match.

Both head coaches praised the youngster afterward.

“Of course, everyone saw what kind of player Brajan is and what a performance he delivered today,” Leipzig trainer Martin Demichelis remarked at his post-match press conference. “That makes me happy.”

“I’d point to Gruda,” Manuel Baum added in his own opening statement at the press conference.  “He was really difficult to defend against and found solutions in numerous situations.”

David Raum responds to Germany omission with spectacular free kick

While Baku has earned a late recall and Gruda prepares for another opportunity with Germany, Leipzig captain David Raum remains outside Klopp’s squad. The 28-year-old left-back was omitted from the original selection on Thursday, with Klopp preferring Bayern Munich’s Nathaniel Brown and Stuttgart’s Maximilian Mittelstädt. The latter scored the winning goal for his Bundesliga outfit in Stuttgart’s 1-0 Saturday evening win over Werder Bremen.

Raum responded with arguably his strongest performance of the season against Augsburg, scoring his first goal of the campaign with a superb direct free kick shortly before half-time. Speaking to DAZN afterward, Raum expressed frustration with recent criticism surrounding his performances and international prospects.

“Everything that’s been reported about me and all the surrounding noise over the past few weeks has, to put it bluntly, pissed me off,” Raum explained. “Today was the time to provide an answer, and that’s what I did with my free-kick goal.”

The Leipzig captain nevertheless made clear that he respected Klopp’s decision.

“Of course it’s disappointing. I’d be lying if I said otherwise,” Raum told Sky Germany. “I also told him quite clearly that I’d respond with performances so that he won’t be able to overlook me next time. I took the first step toward that today.”

GGFN | Peter Weis