News (engl.)

As the U21 national team head towards their first European Championship qualifying game in September, the clear goal in mind will be securing a spot in the tournament set to be hosted by Albania and Serbia in 2027. With their qualification journey set to begin on Tuesday, 9th September against Latvia in Rostock (20:30 CEST), head coach Antonio Di Salvo has called up ten newcomers to his squad alongside 13 players with previous U21 experience. Four days prior to the opening qualifying fixture, the U21s will travel to Euros hosts Albania for a friendly in Elbasan on Friday, 5th September.

“We’re all very excited, because the process of assembling a new squad and properly getting to kow the players on a personal level is always really fun,” said Di Salvo. “This mix of already experienced U21 players and those guys who are joining us for the first time is great. Right now, it’s all about fostering a real sense of togetherness as quickly as we can, and then making a successful start to European qualifying. We’ve got a friendly coming up in Albania, which is a perfect chance to gather some first impressions.”

Di Salvo continued: “Of course, I’m especially looking forward to the game against Latvia, as it’s happening in Rostock. It’s where I really developed into a Bundesliga player myself and I’ve still got a very special connection to the city. We want to kick off Euros qualifying with a win, and I’m sure that the crowd in Rostock are going to be right behind us and show us a lot of support.”

Three new faces in goalkeeper trio Backhaus, Seimen and Weiß

Although Finn Jeltsch (VfB Stuttgart) and Joshua Quarshie (Southampton FC) are the only new defenders in the squad, all three goalkeepers have been included for the first time in Mio Backhaus (Werder Bremen), Dennis Seimen (SC Paderborn) and Max Weiß (Burnley FC). Another five first-timers have been chosen in midfield, with Noël Aséko (Hannover 96), Muhammed Damar (TSG Hoffenheim), Said El Mala (1.FC Köln), Anton Kade and Mert Kömür (both FC Augsburg) hoping to make their first appearances for the side. Centre-forwards Ilyas Ansah (1.FC Union Berlin) and Dženan Pejčinović (VfL Wolfsburg) complete the set of ten newcomers to the U21 setup.

Not included in the squad are Nnamdi Collins (Eintracht Frankfurt), Paul Wanner (PSV Eindhoven) and Tom Bischof (FC Bayern München). “I’m really happy for Nnamdi that he’s been rewarded for his great performances with a spot in the senior team and I wish him all the best,” said Di Salvo. “Paul isn’t fully ready after the injury to his foot, and he was only able to make a brief appearance in PSV’s last game. Tom is unavailable after his appendix operation.”

The 2027 European U21 Championship will be jointly hosted by Albania and Serbia. Alongside Latvia, Germany will also face Georgia, Greece, Northern Ireland and Malta in Group F. The nine group winners will qualify automatically, along with the best performing runner-up. The eight remaining runners-up will compete in a play-off round to determine which four sides will earn a spot in the finals.