News (engl.)

Germany’s U21 national team will face Northern Ireland and Greece in their upcoming qualifiers for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Albania and Serbia. They host Northern Ireland on Friday 27th March (kick-off scheduled for 18:00 CET) at the Eintracht-Stadion in Braunschweig, before travelling to Athens to take on Greece on Tuesday 31st March (kick-off scheduled for 18:00 CEST). Head coach Antonio Di Salvo has named a 24-man squad for the two fixtures.

“Northern Ireland and Greece are the two strongest teams in our group, so this international break is particularly important for our qualification campaign,” said Di Salvo. “Against a physical Northern Ireland side, we’ll need to match them in that regard from the first minute on. I’m confident that, with the support of our fans in Braunschweig, we can win this game and set up a real box-office clash in Athens. After beating us in the reverse fixture, Greece currently top the group, and of course we want to change that. We’re fully aware of the quality they possess. Nevertheless, our aim is to win both matches and head into the final qualifiers in the autumn in a strong position.”

Coulibaly, Finkgräfe and Lenz receive maiden call-ups

Di Salvo has called on a number of established players for this challenge. “We have a strong squad and are largely sticking with the group that has been involved in the qualifiers so far,” he explained. “We’ve also got two players returning to the fold in Linus Gechter from Hertha BSC and Brajan Grude from RB Leipzig.” Defenders Karim Coulibaly (Werder Bremen) and Max Finkgräfe (RB Leipzig), as well as forward Cajetan Lenz (VfL Bochum), receive their first call-ups at U21 level. “We’re looking forward to getting to know these players and seeing how they settle into the U21 environment,” added the head coach.

Lennart Karl is unable to run out for the U21s this month after receiving a call-up to the senior national team. “Lennart has been performing at a very high level for Bayern in both the Bundesliga and Champions League and fully deserves this opportunity,” said Di Salvo. “He also impressed many when playing for us in November, scoring three goals in two matches.” Assan Ouedraogo (RB Leipzig, currently in individual training) and Ilyas Ansah (following discussions with Union Berlin) are also absent from the roster for March.

The 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship will take place in Albania and Serbia. In qualifying Group F, Germany are up against Latvia, Georgia, Greece, Northern Ireland and Malta. After five matches, Germany sit second in the table with 12 points, behind Greece (15) and ahead of Northern Ireland (7). Alongside the two hosts, the nine group winners and the best runner-up will qualify directly for the finals. The remaining eight runners-up will contest play-offs to determine the final four places.