Ozil not included in Germany squad for Italy, San Marino matches

Germany manager Joachim Low announced Friday his 25-man squad for upcoming international matches against San Marino and Italy, with Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil dropped from the team in place of Werder Bremen youngster Serge Gnabry.

The 21-year-old has enjoyed a fine start to the 2016-17 Bundesliga season, scoring three goals and recording one assist in eight appearances.

Though Gnabry has plenty of experience in the German youth ranks, this amounts to his first senior team call-up with Low's side.

Joining Gnabry for national team debuts are Wolfsburg's Yannick Gerhardt and Bayer Leverkusen's Benjamin Henrichs.

"We want to give young players an opportunity to show what they can do," Low told reporters, according to Reuters. "Their good performances in recent months have been noted."

Ozil received a much-needed break and was not called up either, while Low's reportedly marked veterans Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira for use in just one match against San Marino.

The Germans take on San Marino in World Cup qualifying on Nov. 11 before enjoying a friendly against Italy four days later. Here's the full squad:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona), Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen)

Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Yannick Gerhardt (Wolfsburg), Jonas Hector (1. FC Koln), Benjamin Henrichs (Bayer Leverkusen), Benedikt Howedes (Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal), Sebastian Rudy (1899 Hoffenheim), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Serge Gnabry (Werder Bremen), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Leon Goretzka (Schalke 04), Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund)

Forwards: Mario Gomez (Wolfsburg), Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund), Max Meyer (Schalke 04), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Kevin Volland (Bayer Leverkusen)