Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski Should Retire from International Football

Joachim Low will stay on as Germany head coach for at least two more years, the German Football Association (DFB) announced on their official website on Tuesday.

The 56-year-old said in a statement: "We had the youngest team at the tournament, and I still see huge potential. I am confident that they will still provide us with plenty of joy, and so I’m just as excited as ever to carry on working with these players and continue developing them with the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia in mind."

It's a swift resolution to one of the biggest questions left after Euro 2016. Low will tie the legendary Helmut Schon for most matches in charge of the national team in the first World Cup qualifier in Norway in early September and lead the team into its sixth major tournament under him in Russia.

It probably was no coincidence that the decision was made public on Tuesday, seeing as it was the 10-year anniversary of Low taking on the role of Germany head coach.

He's been in charge for so long that only two players in the 23-man Euros squad knew a national team without his involvement: Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski. The two longest-tenured players debuted under Rudi Voller in the same match against Hungary in the buildup to Euro 2004.

At 31 years of age, they've seen it all: the embarrassment of crashing out of Euro 2004, the rejuvenation of German football under Jurgen Klinsmann at the home World Cup two years later, the elusiveness of major international trophies and, finally, Germany's fourth World Cup win in Brazil.

Unlike Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker, however, Schweinsteiger and Podolski didn't call it a career at the international level after the triumph over Argentina. While it's debatable whether that was a mistake or the right call, they now face the same question.

There's only one answer: Yes, Schweinsteiger and Podolski should retire from international football.

Despite the parallelism of their Germany careers, there are different arguments to be made for the two stalwarts.

For Schweinsteiger, it's a matter of fitness and, more importantly, legacy.

The Manchester United midfielder will turn 32 at the start of August and is, quite frankly, a shell of his former self. Due to near-constant injuries in recent years, he hasn't been close to his best form both in his last year with Bayern Munich and his first season with the Red Devils.

Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, arguably the German's biggest mentor and proponent over the years—just ahead of Low—acknowledged as much after a disappointing performance in United's final match in the UEFA Champions League group stage at Wolfsburg in December.

Per Agence France-Presse (h/t Yahoo Sports), the Dutchman said: "I took him off, and I don't take players off for nothing, but we are all human beings and so is Bastian Schweinsteiger. He wants to play at the highest level, especially in Germany, to show his qualities, but I can't say he was the Bastian Schweinsteiger I saw during my Bayern Munich days."

His inclusion in the Euro 2016 squad seemed like a bit of a gamble on Low's part, seeing as Schweinsteiger had last played in March. But it was an understandable risk. A natural leader on and off the field, the team captain was always going to have a spot reserved for him if there was a chance he could contribute at some point in the tournament.

And contribute he did, scoring with his first touch in the opening match against Ukraine, holding up surprisingly well in lieu of the injured Sami Khedira as a substitute against Italy and starting in the semi-final defeat against France.

In that match, of course, his handling the ball in stoppage time of the first half gifted Antoine Griezmann a penalty and probably doomed an undermanned Germany side that had been in almost complete control over the match after the first 10 minutes or so.

Two years after he was the hero of the World Cup final against Argentina for his spirited performance despite getting knocked around in nearly every duel, Schweinsteiger was a big reason his team lost the chance to add another Coupe Henri Delaunay to the trophy case.

His Germany career has been too glorious for him to be remembered for the blunder against France, but the 31-year-old should still think of his legacy when deciding whether to hang up his boots at the international level.

Having missed more than 60 matches for Bayern and United in the last three seasons alone, per Transfermarkt.co.uk, Schweinsteiger's body will only continue to make it harder for him to help the national team. It's better to step away on a relatively high level than to drag a career out too long and force the coach's hand.

"In the aftermath of elimination, he felt too raw to make the decision to resign," Raphael Honigstein wrote for ESPN FC. "I haven't yet had the time to think about [it]," Schweinsteiger said, per Honigstein.

As team captain, it's his duty to think of the entire squad, and with many talented young players coming through the ranks, Germany will be better off without Schweinsteiger. They'll miss his leadership, sure, but on the pitch, he has become replaceable.

The same can be said about Podolski, and it's been said for a while now.

The Galatasaray forward's inclusion in the Euros squad was quite baffling, considering he hasn't done anything for Germany in the last few years. The 31-year-old former FC Cologne, Bayern, Arsenal and Inter Milan man has been a part-time player at best since Euro 2012, racking up lots of caps with short substitute appearances.

Podolski hasn't scored a goal for Germany in a competitive game in more than four years and only played a grand total of 71 minutes at the 2014 World Cup and the Euros in France combined.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

He may be important for team chemistry, but he had no business making the team over players such as Julian Brandt, who was on fire for Bayer Leverkusen in the second half of the Bundesliga season, or team-mate Karim Bellarabi, a versatile, multipurpose player who could've been of use as a good dribbler off the bench.

"I certainly did not come here as a mascot," he said ahead of the tournament in a press conference, per ESPN FC's Stephan Uersfeld. "I think that's disrespectful. I have played in over 100 international matches and many tournaments. That I am called a mascot is impudence."

Football's development has overtaken Podolski, the third-most capped player of all time for Germany, with 129 appearances, in recent years. Germany have a plethora of options to play in his spot on the left wing, and even Low, loyal to a fault to longtime companions, will at some point turn away from him.

If Podolski wants to end his international career with dignity, he has to make the decision and not force Low to simply not call him up anymore. 

He and Schweinsteiger have given Germany a lot over the years, and retiring would be one final service to the team.

Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist who also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.