Joachim Low has promised to keep faith with Mario Gotze because of his rare gift for unlocking defences at the highest level.
Gotze has already secured a place in German football history, having come off the bench to score the extra-time winner in the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina.
That moment of glory aside, the playmaker has struggled to hit the heights he enjoyed early in his Borussia Dortmund career, failing to impress at Bayern Munich and battling for form and fitness upon his return to Signal Iduna Park in July.
Gotze has started only nine Bundesliga matches this season, but Germany coach Low continues to value the 24-year-old highly.
"Mario can make the difference, he is not the classic striker, but a locksmith," he told Kicker.
"He makes goals against top nations - Argentina, Brazil.
"He has the gift to play at the highest level. Not everyone can. That is why I think of him.
"Even if he is not in the team, I know what he can do with us."
Low went on to describe Gotze, who has been tipped for an off-season reunion with former Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, as "extremely self-critical and reflective".
"I find it remarkable for his age," he added. "He is extremely inquisitive and curious, sometimes a tad too much.
"I wish him to regain the ease and looseness that he had in the beginning in Dortmund."
