Jürgen Klopp confirms that Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains the clear #1

(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images Jürgen Klopp had to make some key decisions on Thursday as the former Liverpool boss named his 24-man squad. Among the biggest decisions were some key omissions as Klopp cut the squad by a whopping 20 players. Even with the cuts, though, t

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What is the story about?

Jürgen Klopp had to make some key decisions on Thursday as the former Liverpool boss named his 24-man squad. Among the biggest decisions were some key omissions as Klopp cut the squad by a whopping 20 players. Even with the cuts, though, there were still new names seen, such as Wael Mohya and Niclas Füllkrug.

A quieter conversation, though, has gone under the radar: the goalkeeper dilemma, as we have not yet seen who the future goalkeeper of the German national team will be. Although Klopp previously

named Marc-André ter Stegen as his number one, he further backed up his decision when interviewed.

“Marc is having a fantastic season in Amsterdam, and fortunately, the other two [Urbig and Nübel] are also having really good seasons. We’re going into these matches with Marc as our number one. And this isn’t about who happens to be making the better saves at any given moment, because goalkeepers need to provide a lot of stability and confidence. The number one requirement for a goalkeeper is to make sure the ball doesn’t end up in the net. That’s the most important thing. But beyond that, there are several other aspects that matter: How can he dictate our game, including when we’re in possession? How does he handle these situations? And when we’re defending with a high line, how early can he recognise those situations so that he can defend further up the pitch as a goalkeeper? It’s a strange way of putting it, but essentially, it’s about knowing when to come out and deal with the danger – not trying to dribble, but simply clearing the ball. All of these things are part of the job. Marc has the most experience in this area, and, yes, we’re going into these matches with him as our number one,” Klopp stated, as captured by @iMiaSanMia.

Well, it appears that Klopp is standing by his decision to keep ter Stegen as the number one, at least for the time being. But what does that really mean? Ter Stegen was the man last time, yet it was still Urbig who played the most matches during the last international window. Only time will tell if Urbig and ter Stegen split the matches or give the Ajax keeper his time to shine.