It's impossible to say that Germany would have done better at the World Cup with Leroy Sane but it's hard to imagine that they would have done any worse.
Despite an incredible second season at Manchester City, Sane was left out of Joachim Low's squad for the world champions' defence and it bears wondering how the side would have fared with Sane operating out wide.
In two of Germany's three group games, they failed to find the net and some attacking creativity would most certainly not have gone amiss in Russia.
Sane, who scored 14 goals last season, was allowed an extra long holiday while Low watched his Germany side squander chance after chance as they finished rock bottom of Group F.
Manchester City supporters are not alone in their belief that Sane ought to have made it to the World Cup as Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand sent a heartfelt message to the 22-year-old shortly after the full-time whistle against South Korea, when Germany fell to a shock 2-0 defeat.
https://twitter.com/rioferdy5/status/1012047121963503617
Low is now left contemplating his future because while he has repeatedly challenged for top international trophies in recent years, the showing at the 2018 World Cup was nothing short of embarrassing.
"It is too early for me to answer that question," Low said.
"We need a couple of hours to see things clearly. The disappointment is deep inside me. I couldn’t imagine we would lose to South Korea. I’m shocked because we didn’t pull it off. It’s premature for me to say something, I’m incredibly disappointed. Where we go from here – we will have to take some time and talk about it calmly."
