Just look at the talent in this Germany squad - Will they defend the World Cup?

As teams prepare for the World Cup in Russia next month, many players sleep with the hope of being called up to their national teams.

Though several teams have already announced their official 23-man squads, some national team coaches have preferred having provisional squads first before cutting off some names.

The German national team is one of them. Coach Joachim Low, who has just signed a 2-year contract extension, has provided a 27-man provisional squad which has left German fans in a state of confusion.

Their World Cup winner in 2014, Mario Gotze, has not been included.

Gotze scored the winning goal in the 2014 final against Argentina to seal the Nationanelf’s fourth World Cup.

Another star left out of Low’s side is former Chelsea attacker Andre Shurrle.

As you can vividly remember, it was Shurrle who had the assist to Gotze’s goal in the 2014 final, a sublime cross volleyed in by the 25-year-old.

Gotze has scored 2 goals this season, making 3 assists in 23 appearances. Shurrle, on the other hand, has started 11 games for Dortmund, scoring once and assisting four times.

Here is the provisional German squad: