Meeting Esther Heesch was just a small interlude before the World Cup.
That night, Mark, who had returned to the training camp in Italy on a flight, was tossing and turning in bed.
Because the next day was the official announcement of the German Team's final 23-man squad for the World Cup!
Mark, of course, hoped he could go to the World Cup with Germany and then effortlessly claim the trophy.
Winning the World Cup at the age of eighteen would be a great thing for his personal fame and resume.
Moreover, the World Cup championship reward would bring him a considerable amount of potential points, thereby enhancing his own strength.
However, Mark quickly came to a realization:
If he loses it, it's his fortune; if he gets it, it's his destiny. Why dwell too much on the future?!
It would, of course, be best if he could participate in the World Cup.
If not, it doesn't matter.
He was only eighteen, and he had plenty of time to prove himself.
Even if he couldn't participate in this one, he would only be twenty-two when the next World Cup arrived!
After coming to terms with it, Mark immediately fell into a deep sleep.
In his dream, he found himself becoming the leader of the German War Machine, personally lifting the world cup trophy.
And Esther Heesch, in the stands, blew him a kiss!
The next day, in the morning.
The German Team held another press conference at the Merano training camp.
And this time, head coach Löw finally attended.
Under the aiming of numerous cameras and the gaze of many reporters, Löw took out a list and began to announce the German National Team's final 23-man squad for the World Cup in Brazil:
Three goalkeepers, led by Bayern's Neuer, with Weidenfeller (Dortmund) and Zieler (Hannover) as reserves;
Seven defenders, consisting of Jérôme Boateng (Bayern), Großkreutz (Dortmund), Höwedes (Schalke), Hummels (Dortmund), Lahm (Bayern), Mertesacker (Arsenal), and Ginter (Freiburg);
Eleven midfielders, led by "Schweini" Schweinsteiger, Götze (Bayern), Khedira (Real Madrid), Kroos (Bayern), Özil (Arsenal), Müller (Bayern), Reus (Dortmund), Schürrle (Chelsea), Draxler (Schalke), Kramer (Mönchengladbach), and Mark (Wolfsburg)!
Two forwards, consisting of German legend "K-God" Klose (Lazio) and Podolski (Arsenal).
The seven players who were subsequently dropped were Hahn (Augsburg), Goretzka (Schalke), Jansen (Hamburg), Mustafi (Sampdoria), Schmelzer (Dortmund), Lars Bender (Leverkusen), and Drmic (Dortmund).
As soon as this list was announced, there was an uproar at the scene.
They never expected Löw to be so bold!
It should be known that in the German Team's previous 30-man squad, many new stars had been selected.
This alone was surprising.
But the most surprising thing was undoubtedly the team's forward selection; Löw's squad surprisingly only had one center forward, Klose, who was nearly 36 years old!
Klose's inclusion in the final 23-man World Cup squad also reflected head coach Löw's absolute trust in him.
It should be noted that since the training camp began, Klose had not participated in any official match.
It is worth mentioning that the calls in Germany for Löw to summon Mario Gómez, the main center forward from the previous European Cup, were not accepted by him.
In fact, as early as when the 30-man World Cup squad was announced, Löw had explained the reason for Gómez's exclusion.
He stated that Gómez had been out for a long time due to injury in the past season, and his form could not be guaranteed.
Therefore, he chose not to call up the main center forward from the previous European Cup.
Indeed, Gómez was plagued by injuries this season.
But if this were the only reason for Gómez's exclusion, then Klose's inclusion would probably not be convincing.
Klose was also constantly injured this season, making it difficult to guarantee playing time.
Both he and Gómez had only recently recovered from injuries.
If Gómez could not be selected for this reason, then why could Klose be selected?
Could a veteran who was about to turn 36 guarantee his form at the World Cup?
These were the questions from domestic bigwigs, fans, and media.
And why did Löw favor Klose alone?
This was a riddle destined to have no answer.
However, many people could guess that Klose's leadership and experience in the locker room were invaluable.
As the saying goes, an elder at home is a treasure.
Some speculated that Löw brought Klose to give him a chance to break the World Cup goal record held by Ronaldo.
Klose had already participated in three World Cups, scoring fourteen goals, just one goal short of Ronaldo.
This World Cup was also Klose's last chance to chase Ronaldo's record.
Others believed that Löw only brought veteran Klose as a forward to better implement the "false nine" tactic in the German Team.
During last year's World Cup qualifiers, the German Team adopted the "false nine" tactic multiple times, with Götze, Müller, and Özil all serving as the team's "false nine."
And the team successfully qualified for the World Cup finals in advance with this lineup.
It is well known that Löw is a proponent of Spanish tiki-taka football, and he is happy to imitate Guardiola's false nine formation.
And in the recent friendly match between the German Team and Cameroon, Löw also had Götze and Schürrle serve as lone strikers.
Klose's inclusion in the squad might just be Löw's gesture to allow the veteran to have a final performance at the World Cup?
Apart from the controversy surrounding Klose's continued selection and the regret over Gómez's non-selection, the exclusion of other players was largely expected.
Lars Bender and Schmelzer were not selected due to injuries.
As for the others, they were eliminated entirely due to insufficient ability.
It is worth mentioning that the emergence of Wolfsburg's prodigy, Mark Lane, who edged out many established veterans to be finally selected, was somewhat surprising.
However, there wasn't too much controversy.
Despite his impressive performance in the Bundesliga this season.
In the eyes of many media and reporters, Mark's selection was of the same nature as Draxler's selection.
Löw would not give these new stars much playing time, but merely bring them to Brazil to experience the atmosphere of the World Cup:
Speaking of which, Mario Gómez was arguably the unluckiest.
Originally, he left Bayern for Fiorentina to play as a starter, precisely to go to the World Cup.
However, things did not go as planned, and he still couldn't go to Brazil.
Mark didn't expect to be selected, and Gómez didn't expect not to be selected!
And when the list was announced, Mark was still in his room, awaiting the arrangements of fate.
Just as he was wondering whether to go out and see, there was a knock on the door.
Opening the door, he saw it was Flick, the National Team assistant coach.
The latter simply gave a faint smile and said:
"Mark, congratulations!"
"You're going to Brazil!"
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