Two weeks ago, German coach Silvia Neid, named her 18-player roster who will be representatives for Germany in the Women's Soccer Tournament at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Germany has featured twice before the tournament and have gained Bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Neid is also at the end of her career as the head coach for Germany after eleven years and will be hoping to leave the position with that elusive Gold medal in hand.

Some notable names left off the list

Perhaps the most surprising exclusion after the roster was announced was that of Pauline Bremer who currently plays for Olympique Lyonnais in the Division 1 Féminine in France. The 20-year old had been in scintillating form for Lyon last season and was one the standouts during the 2015/2016 UEFA Women's Champions League final that Lyon eventually won.

Other notable missing players on the roster include Meike KämperLena Petermann and Felicitas Rauch who all had standout seasons for their clubs in the Frauen-Bundesliga, Germany's top division for women's soccer.

Apart from those names, Germany's roster has a lot of familiar names and players who have featured at the highest level for both club and country. With the retirements of Nadine Angerer, Célia Šašić and Nadine Keßler, Germany will look to players such as veterans Annike KrahnLena Goeßling and the striking duo of Alexandra Popp and Anja Mittag to bring them the Gold medal they will no doubt be aiming for.

Germany's roster in full for the Olympic Games | Source: dfb.de
Germany's roster in full for the Olympic Games | Source: dfb.de

Neid on her final roster selection

Speaking to the official website for the German national teams, Silvia Neid seemed optimistic on the chances of bringing back a Gold medal. For Neid, her decision came down to "versatility which plays a big role with only being able to select 16 outfielders and two goalkeepers."

She added that the decision< "had not been an easy one and that her coaching staff got a good impression from the three preparatory training camps and used those camps to debate the situation intensively after each training session."

Germany have been placed in Group F along with Australia, Canada and Zimbabwe, and will kick-off their Olympic tournament against Zimbabwe on August 3rd at the Corinthians Arena in São Paulo.

Germany's roster in full:

Goalkeepers: Almuth Schult (VfL Wolfsburg), Laura Benkarth (SC Freiburg).

Defenders: Saskia Bartusiak (1. FFC Frankfurt), Josephine Henning (Arsenal FC), Leonie Maier (FC Bayern Munich), Annike Krahn (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Tabea Kemme (1. FFC Turbine Potsdam), Babett Peter (VfL Wolfsburg).

Midfielders: Melanie Behringer (FC Bayern Munich), Lena Goeßling (VfL Wolfsburg), Simone Laudehr (1. FFC Frankfurt), Sara Däbritz (FC Bayern Munich), Melanie Leupolz (FC Bayern Munich), Isabel Kerschowski (VfL Wolfsburg).

Forwards: Alexandra Popp (VfL Wolfsburg), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Olympique Lyonnais), Anja Mittag (Paris Saint-Germain), Mandy Islacker (1. FFC Frankfurt).

Quotes via DFB.de

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