News (engl.)

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has announced his 23-man squad for the start of the World Cup qualifying campaign. Germany face Slovakia on 4th September before hosting Northern Ireland on 7th September.

At a press conference at the DFB Campus in Frankfurt on Wednesday, Nagelsmann unveiled his squad for the first two fixtures on the road to the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The group includes three newcomers and four returning players.

Goalkeeper Finn Dahmen of FC Augsburg earns his first senior call-up after winning the 2021 European U21 Championship with Germany. Defender Nnamdi Collins (Eintracht Frankfurt) and attacking midfielder Paul Nebel (1. FSV Mainz 05) are also included for the first time, having helped the U21s reach the final of this summer’s Euros in Slovakia. Returning to the squad are Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Angelo Stiller, Jamie Leweling (both VfB Stuttgart), and Nadiem Amiri (Mainz 05).

Players to meet from Monday

The national team will gather on Monday at the adidas Home Ground team base in Herzogenaurach. On Wednesday, the squad will travel to Bratislava for their opening qualifier against Slovakia, which kicks off on Thursday, 4th September at 20:45 CEST. Germany then face Northern Ireland in Cologne on Sunday, 7th September at 20:45 CEST.

Germany have faced Slovakia 11 times to date, recording eight wins, including a 3-0 victory in the round of 16 at EURO 2016 thanks to goals from Jerome Boateng, Mario Gomez and Julian Draxler. Slovakia have won three of those meetings. The DFB-Team have recorded 13 wins in 19 encounters with Northern Ireland, including a 6-1 triumph in Frankfurt during EURO 2020 qualifying in November 2019 courtesy of a Serge Gnabry hat-trick, a Leon Goretzka brace and a goal from Julian Brandt. Four matches ended in draws, while Northern Ireland have won twice.