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If Mika Baur wants to know what it feels like to represent Germany, he only has to ask his father. Markus Baur pulled on the Germany shirt 228 times, scoring 712 goals and winning both the Handball World Championship and European Championship. “That’s some record. He can be very proud of it,” said Mika Baur on Tuesday. He also tried his hand at handball before deciding to focus on football as a child, which proved a good decision. Baur now plays for Scottish giants Celtic and is one of several players hoping to make their Germany debut during the current international break.

Baur doesn’t feel any pressure to follow in his father’s footsteps. “Obviously, in an ideal world we’d all like to win every trophy, but it’s not like he’s told me I have to,” said Baur. His father won’t be in the stands for Thursday’s Nations League game against Serbia in Munich (20:45 CEST), although the family are planning to attend Sunday’s return fixture in Greece. “I think he feels a bit guilty because he hasn’t managed to make it over to Glasgow yet either,” Baur joked.

Baur: “It still doesn’t feel real”

The 22-year-old was one of the biggest surprises among the players handed their first call-ups across Jürgen Klopp’s two squads. Until the phone rang, Baur admitted in Herzogenaurach, playing for Germany “felt a long way off – it still doesn’t feel real.” His summer move from newly promoted Bundesliga side SC Paderborn to Celtic was an important step in his career. “But I never expected it to lead to something like this as well.” Now that he is here, training alongside the country’s best players, he wants to make the most of every second. “I want to make my mark, take everything in and make the most of the experience,” Baur added. “I want to enjoy myself as well. But obviously we all want to play and get some minutes.”

“My strengths are definitely on the ball, but over the last year and a half I’ve also learned to enjoy doing the dirty work,” explained Baur, who promised to “leave everything out on the pitch”. Goalkeepers Noah Atubolu, Finn Dahmen and Jonas Urbig, as well as Finn Jeltsch, Said El Mala, Vitaly Janelt, Felix Keidel and Derry Scherhant, are also yet to make their senior Germany debuts in the squad for the Serbia game. Philipp Treu, Younes Ebnoutalib, Yannik Engelhardt, Bambasé Conté and Hennes Behrens all made their debuts during the first round of Nations League fixtures against the Netherlands and Greece.

Janelt dreaming of a “home tournament”

Like Baur, Vitaly Janelt plays his club football in Britain. “I’m really happy to finally be here at the age of 28,” explained the midfielder after receiving his first call-up. “This is probably one of my last chances to be involved at a major tournament.” EURO 2028 will be held in the UK and Ireland, making it something of a home tournament for the Hamburg-born midfielder, who has played for Premier League side Brentford since 2020.

Brentford is a part of London, and the club itself suits Janelt down to the ground. It is a quieter, more low-key environment in which he has been able to establish himself over the years. “I’ve made more Premier League appearances for the club than anyone else. I’m one of the vice-captains and I’ve established myself there. At Brentford, we’re aggressive out of possession, no matter who we’re playing. We always try to stick to our principles.”

Janelt won the European Championship with Germany U21s in 2021. Five years on, he now wants to bring those qualities to the senior side. “I’m a team player. I do the dirty work for the lads ahead of me.” He also believes he can “help bridge the gap between the older and younger players. I think that’s one of my strengths. I’m quite vocal and I’m not afraid to give my opinion. I try to communicate a lot on the pitch and I think that can really help the team.”

Jeltsch: “I learned so much from Miro”

For Finn Jeltsch, this week in Herzogenaurach is something of a homecoming. The Franconia native began his professional career just down the road at 1. FC Nürnberg, where he played under World Cup winner Miroslav Klose. “I learned so much from him,” recalled Jeltsch. “It’s an honour when you get to work every day with someone like that, given the person he is and the player he was. I also did a lot of individual work with him. That helped me enormously and I’m very grateful to him.”

The defender has since moved on to VfB Stuttgart and is now part of the senior Germany squad for the first time. “I obviously want to show what I can do and help the team, impress the coaching team and settle into the group. I’m an aggressive defender. I’m brave, I look to play forward and I like to step out and defend on the front foot.”

Jeltsch was part of the Germany U17 side that achieved the remarkable feat of winning both the European Championship and World Cup in 2023. Less than three years later, he is now hoping to take the next step and make his senior Germany debut.