Ilkay Gundogan named new captain of Germany

Ilkay Gundogan has been named as the new captain of the German national team.

The Barcelona midfielder has now said it is a “big honour” to be handed the role.

Gundogan takes over from Manuel Neuer, who remains sidelined as he is not yet 100 per cent match-fit after he suffered a severe skiing accident in January.

Although the goalkeeper has not officially retired from international football, manager Hansi Flick has picked his successor in veteran midfielder Gundogan.

Flick announced that Gundogan along with another veteran Joshua Kimmich will form the leadership duo.

“We have a change. We thought about it: What would help the team,” he told reporters before facing Japan in a friendly.

“With the national team it’s usually like this: whoever has the most international matches is also the captain. I decided to give Ilkay the captain’s armband. Together with Joshua Kimmich, this now makes up our leadership duo. I’m really happy that both of them have committed to it. This gives us new energy that we can put to good use,” he said.