Gomez retires from Germany duty — unless Loew really needs him

Berlin: Germany striker Mario Gomez has stepped down from the national team, but says he will make himself available again for the 2020 European Championship if he is still required by coach Joachim Loew. The 33-year-old VfB Stuttgart player joins Mesut Ozil in quitting the Germany team following their shock group stage exit at the World Cup. “Now it’s time to make room and give the many young and talented guys the opportunity to fulfil their dream,” he wrote on Facebook yesterday. “Only if, for unlikely reasons, the coach sees a need for me in two years at the Euros and I really feel ready to help will I make myself available.”Gomez scored 31 goals in 78 appearances for Germany having made his international debut in 2007. The former Bayern Munich front man was part of the World Cup squad which finished third in 2010 but was not selected in the squad for Germany’s World Cup triumph in 2014 following injury.He was in the squad for June’s tournament in Russia as backup to starting striker Timo Werner and came on as a substitute in all three group matches. His selection was viewed by many German football pundits as an indication of the dearth of top German forwards at present and he was not expected to feature at Euro 2020 if Germany qualify.Gomez’s inclusion in the 2018 World Cup squad instead of Sandro Wagner partly prompted 30-year-old Bayern striker Wagner to quit Germany duty ahead of the tournament. Freiburg forward Nils Petersen was also included in the provisional World Cup squad but was left out of the final 23, with Gomez getting the nod.Midfielder Ozil, 29, retired from the Germany team last month over the fallout from a controversial meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the World Cup. Ozil, who has Turkish roots, had been criticized by the German football federation over the meeting. He accused federation president Reinhard Grindel of racism, which Grindel denies.