It appears that Julian Nagelsmann will be without three top-class Bundesliga players in his squad for the upcoming tournament. According to consistent reports in various media outlets, the national team manager has decided against selecting Said El Mala (1. FC Köln). Furthermore, according to information from the *Bild* newspaper, Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart) will also be left out, and, according to a report by Sky, Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund) will not be included either. El Mala is instead set to be part of the U21 squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Northern Ireland (27 March) and Greece (31 March). According to the *Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger*, however, the 19-year-old rising star remains on standby, meaning he could be called up at short notice in the event of an injury. The attacking player had been included in the senior national team squad for the first time during the previous training camp in November, but did not feature and was sent to the U21 team for the second match, as previously agreed. Due to his continued strong performances, which could potentially lead to a move to the Premier League this summer, El Mala had nevertheless been regarded as a hot favourite right up until the last minute. With 13 goal contributions (nine goals, four assists) in 26 Bundesliga matches – some of them as a substitute – he is Cologne’s lifeline in the relegation battle. Nevertheless, Nagelsmann had also spoken critically of El Mala in his much-discussed kicker interview. “There’s a difference between being at Bayern and being at Cologne. He simply needs to get more playing time at Cologne,” Nagelsmann clarified: “And this message isn’t directed at Lukas Kwasniok, because I’ve come to know him as a manager who closely observes what his team needs, including in defence. Said must have the ambition to be a first-team regular at Cologne and to play consistently. But he’s playing 50 per cent of the time, which isn’t enough. And that’s not down to the manager, as people often assume, but down to him himself and how consistently he performs in defence."Stiller, on the other hand, was already absent in November. The decision to leave the midfielder out had caused a great deal of consternation among the Stuttgart players at the time. However, the omission of the VfB key player had already been hinted at during Nagelsmann’s interview, when he had effectively guaranteed Leon Goretzka (FC Bayern Munich) a place in the starting line-up and remarked that he wanted another type of player with attacking qualities in his midfield. He also announced controversial decisions regarding regulars at club level – Stiller appears to be one of them. Beier was also absent from the end-of-year squad, but unlike Stiller (one appearance), he did at least feature three times in the World Cup qualifiers. The 23-year-old forward had only recently fought his way into the BVB starting line-up and is currently in excellent form. In the last twelve Bundesliga matches, he has scored five goals and provided four assists; Beier also contributed a goal in the first leg of the play-off against Atalanta Bergamo (2-0). This means that at least Beier and Stiller are unlikely to feature in the World Cup this summer. Nagelsmann also told *kicker* that the squad for the matches against Switzerland and Ghana would be “very similar” to the World Cup squad. Bayern youngsters Jonas Urbig (22) and Lennart Karl (18), whose selection had already been leaked on Wednesday, can look forward to a shorter summer break.According to Sky, Stiller’s teammate Jamie Leweling, Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United) have also made the March squad. Nagelsmann is reportedly leaving out the currently injured Jamal Musiala as a precaution, in consultation with FC Bayern Munich. Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting