3 Olympic additions to DFB Team

German national coach Joachim Löw has called up three of Germany's silver medal winners from the Olympic Games as the world champions launch their defense of the World Cup title next week.

Hoffenheim's Niklas Süle, Bayer Leverkusen's Julian Brandt and Schalke's Max Meyer were all instrumental in Germany's successful showing at the Rio Games, where they lost to Brazil on penalties in the final. Süle is being included in the national team squad for the first time.

"Max Meyer and Julian Brandt were already with us, and we would like to get to know Niklas Süle better," said head coach Löw. "These three have earned their nominations with their excellent performances. I think they see the nominations as a motivation and incentive to continue to improve."

Manchester United's Bastain Schweinsteiger will make one last appearance for Germany in a friendly against Finland on Wednesday in Mönchengladbach. The 32-year-old was skipper for Löw's side at the European Championship in France, but announced his retirement from international football at the end of July.

He will not feature when Germany take on Norway on September 4 in their first qualifier for the 2018 World Cup.

From the European Championship squad, Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng, Mario Gomez, Antonio Rüdiger and Manchester City pair Leroy Sané and Ilkay Gundogan are out through injury.