Arsenal defender Skhrodan Mustafi and Borussia Dortmund forward Mario Gotze have been left out of the 27-man preliminary squad announced by Germany coach Joachim Low.
Both players won’t be part of the world champions’ defence of the title they won in Brazil four years ago.
Mustafi has paid dearly for an underwhelming season at his North London club having been criticised on numerous occasions for his below par performances.
Gotze, on the other hand, scored the World Cup winning goal to secure the title for Germany but has struggled to hit that height in the colours of Borussia Dortmund prompting his omission from the squad ahead of Russia 2018.
Low is expected to reduce the 27-man party to 23 players on June 4 at the latest.
The squad named earlier on Tuesday included 29-year-old uncapped Freiburg striker Nils Petersen and Manuel Neuer who has not played since September as a result of a broken foot.
Full 27-man Squad:
Goalkeepers: Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Paris Saint-Germain)
Defenders: Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Joshua Kimmich, Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich) Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)
Midfielders/Forwards: Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Paris Saint-Germain), Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart), Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane (Manchester City), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller, Sebastian Rudy (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Nils Petersen (Freiburg), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Timo Wener (RB Leipzig)
