News (engl.)

What does it mean to receive your first call-up to the Germany national team? On Tuesday morning, the expressions on the faces of Younes Ebnoutalib, Philipp Treu and Max Rosenfelder said it all. All three were beaming as they recalled the phone calls from coach Jürgen Klopp in which they were told: “You’re in.” Listening to them speak during a media session at the team base at DFB partner adidas in Herzogenaurach made it equally clear just how special that moment had been.

“I had a few tears in my eyes after the call because I thought about where I was just a few years ago,” said Eintracht Frankfurt forward Ebnoutalib, one of six players to receive their first Germany call-ups for the opening two UEFA Nations League games, against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Thursday (20:45 CEST) and Greece in Augsburg on Sunday (20:45 CEST). Five more players will join up with the squad for the first time when the second squad meets up on Sunday ahead of games three and four.

“Take everything in”

“It’s a childhood dream come true for anyone when they receive their first international call-up. It means a huge amount to me,” said Freiburg defender Rosenfelder, who has already represented Germany at several youth levels. Rosenfelder initially thought Klopp’s first message to his phone might be a joke. “Then it was really, really cool to hear his voice,” added the defender, who finished as a European Under-21 Championship runner-up with Germany in 2025. For now, he simply wants to “take everything in. I’m just really excited to be here.”

Ebnoutalib’s route to the national team has been very different. He was not considered one of Germany’s leading prospects as a youngster and was still playing for FC Gießen in the Regionalliga Südwest as recently as 2024. Last season, he moved from Bundesliga 2 side SV Elversberg to Eintracht Frankfurt in the top flight and has scored four goals across the first four matchdays of the new campaign. His fellow Frankfurt forward Jonathan Burkardt has been included by Klopp in the second squad for the games against Serbia in Munich on 1st October (20:45 CEST) and Greece in Thessaloniki on 4th October (20:45 CEST).

“Represent Germany with pride”

Ebnoutalib comes from a sporting family. His father, Faissal Ebnoutalib, won a silver medal for Germany in taekwondo at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and still runs a martial arts school in Frankfurt today. He also coached his son in taekwondo for ten years.

Younes never gave up on his dream of becoming a professional footballer despite the setbacks along the way, and he now wants to make his mark at international level too. “I’ll just try to give my best and hopefully get plenty of minutes.” Ebnoutalib also summed up what Klopp expects from him, the other players called up for the first time and the rest of the squad: “That we represent the Germany national team with pride, give everything we’ve got and, even when things aren’t going our way, keep fighting until the end.”

“I want to show who I am”

Freiburg’s Philipp Treu is another player earning his first senior Germany call-up, alongside club teammate Yannik Engelhardt, Augsburg’s Hennes Behrens and Hoffenheim’s Bambasé Conté. The right-back, who made two appearances for Germany U19s in 2019, is determined to make the most of his opportunity. “I’ll leave everything out on the pitch and always give it everything,” he promised. “I want to show who I am. I’m someone you can always rely on.”

Klopp has already made quite an impression on the players joining the squad for the first time, who trained under him for the first time on Tuesday afternoon. “He’s the kind of coach you’d run through a brick wall for,” Treu enthused. “He’s a brilliant guy.” Ebnoutalib, meanwhile, simply described Klopp as “one of the best coaches in the world”. It’s clear just how much their first experience with the national team means to them.