Former Germany captains Lothar Matthäus and Philipp Lahm have criticized the timing of the announcement of the German squad for the World Cup in June and July.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann will name his squad on Thursday, just two days before the German Cup final between title holders VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich.
"We have a Cup final two days later, with Stuttgart playing Bayern. How can I make this squad announcement two days before, when I'm sure to hurt the feelings of two or three players who are hoping to make the World Cup squad?" Matthäus told the Bild newspaper in a joint interview with Lahm published on Monday.
Lahm agreed that for some players, not being selected could be a huge disappointment.
"Sure, we can say we're professionals. But it still affects the players," the 2014 World Cup champion explained.
Nagelsmann initially planned to name his squad for the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada on May 12 but postponed the announcement because he wanted to wait until the final Bundesliga matchday last Saturday to gather any last-minute impressions.
"Psychologically speaking, I definitely don't think the timing is ideal," said Matthäus, who won the World Cup with Germany in 1990.
"The scheduling should also take into account the match schedules of the clubs that have national team players and have an important game on that day or the day after. You could do that on May 24, after the Cup final."
