Germany national under-21 football team

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Germany Under-21
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationDeutscher Fußball-Bund
Head coachAntonio Di Salvo
CaptainJonathan Burkardt
Most capsFabian Ernst (31)
Top scorerPierre Littbarski (18)
First colours
Second colours
First international
U-23:
Germany West Germany 3–3 Yugoslavia Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(Frankfurt, West Germany; 25 June 1955)
U-21:
Poland Poland 1–0 West Germany Germany
(Toruń, Poland; 10 October 1979)
Biggest win
U-23:
Germany West Germany 3–0 Turkey Turkey
(Augsburg, West Germany; 24 April 1971)
U-21:
 San Marino 0–11 Germany 
(Serravalle, San Marino; 17 November 2009)
Biggest defeat
U-23:
Soviet Union Soviet Union 3–1 West Germany Germany
(Yerevan, Soviet Union; 29 April 1972)
U-21:
 Portugal 5–0 Germany 
(Olomouc, Czech Republic; 27 June 2015)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances14 (first in 1982)
Best resultWinners (2009, 2017, 2021)

The Germany national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Germany in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and is controlled by the German Football Association (DFB), the governing body of football in Germany.

Before the reunification of Germany, East Germany and West Germany played as separate entities — the two teams played separately until summer 1990. Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, international under-21 football in Europe began. A West German team, however, did not compete in the U-21 European Championship until the qualifying round (beginning in 1980) of the 1982 competition.

West Germany competed in the first two under-23 competitions, which finished in 1972 and 1974. The first under-21 competition finals were in 1978, and since the under-21 competition rules state that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, technically it is an under-23 competition.

The current Germany team can be legitimately considered as the current incarnation of the West German team, since the West Germany flag, uniform, and football association all became those of the unified Germany. In effect, the West German team absorbed the East German team to become 'the Germany national under-21 football team'.

For these reasons, the record of West Germany for the U-23 and U-21 competitions is shown below.

Competitive record[edit]

For the East Germany team record, look here.

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

UEFA U-23 Championship record[edit]

UEFA European Under-23 Championship finals record Qualifications record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GF GA GP W D L GF GA
Europe 1972 Quarterfinals 8th 2 0 1 1 1 3 6 5 1 0 11 1 1972
Europe 1974 did not qualify 4 2 1 1 7 3 1974
Europe 1976 did not enter did not enter 1976
Total Quarterfinals 1/3 2 0 1 1 1 3 10 7 2 1 18 4 Total

UEFA U-21 Championship record[edit]

UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals record Qualifications record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GF GA GP W D L GF GA
Europe 1978 did not enter did not enter 1978
Europe 1980 1980
Europe 1982 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 0 2 15 9 6 5 0 1 15 5 1982
Europe 1984 did not qualify 6 3 3 0 13 4 1984
Europe 1986 6 3 1 2 9 6 1986
Europe 1988 6 3 0 3 12 9 1988
Europe 1990 Quarterfinals 6th 2 0 1 1 2 3 6 4 2 0 10 2 1990
Europe 1992 Quarterfinals 6th 2 0 1 1 4 5 4 4 0 0 12 1 1992
France 1994 did not qualify 8 5 0 3 20 8 1994
Spain 1996 Quarterfinals 7th 2 0 1 1 1 4 8 6 1 1 22 5 1996
Romania 1998 Quarterfinals 5th 3 2 0 1 3 2 8 6 2 0 20 3 1998
Slovakia 2000 did not qualify 8 4 1 3 9 7 2000
Switzerland 2002 8 5 1 2 18 7 2002
Germany 2004 Group stage 6th 3 1 0 2 4 5 8 5 2 1 13 6 2004
Portugal 2006 Group stage 7th 3 1 0 2 1 4 12 9 3 0 27 5 2006
Netherlands 2007 did not qualify 4 2 0 2 8 6 2007
Sweden 2009 Champions 1st 5 3 2 0 8 1 10 6 3 1 26 4 2009
Denmark 2011 did not qualify 8 3 3 2 26 10 2011
Israel 2013 Group stage 6th 3 1 0 2 4 5 12 10 2 0 43 11 2013
Czech Republic 2015 Semifinals 3rd 4 1 2 1 5 7 10 8 2 0 30 5 2015
Poland 2017 Champions 1st 5 3 1 1 8 3 10 10 0 0 35 8 2017
Italy 2019 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 15 7 10 8 1 1 33 7 2019
Hungary Slovenia 2021 Champions 1st 6 3 3 0 9 4 8 6 0 2 22 10 2021
Romania Georgia (country) 2023 Group stage - 3 0 1 2 2 5 10 9 0 1 32 9 2023
Total 3 titles 14/24 52 22 13* 17 81 64 176 124 27 25 465 138 Total

Individual awards[edit]

EURO Under-21 dream team

On 17 June 2015, UEFA revealed an all-time best XI from the previous Under-21 final tournaments.[1]

Included players from Germany:

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship[edit]

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 6 5 1 0 15 4 +11 16 Final tournament 3–1 11 Oct '24 0–0 4–1 2–0
2  Poland 7 5 0 2 14 6 +8 15 Play-offs 15 Oct '24 0–1 3–0 5–0 2–1
3  Bulgaria 7 3 3 1 14 7 +7 12 2–3 10 Sep '24 1–1 6–0 1–0
4  Kosovo 7 2 3 2 8 10 −2 9 0–3 11 Oct '24 2–2 2–0 3–1
5  Estonia (E) 6 0 1 5 2 19 −17 1 10 Sep '24 0–1 1–1 15 Oct '24 7 Sep '24
6  Israel (E) 5 0 0 5 3 10 −7 0 4 Sep '24 1–2 15 Oct '24 10 Sep '24 10 Oct '24
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated

Results and fixtures[edit]

  Win   Draw   Loss

28 March 2023 Friendly Romania  0–0  Germany Sibiu
19:00 Report Stadium: Stadionul Municipal Sibiu
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Vidican Rareș (Romania)
22 June 2023 2023 UEFA EC Germany  1–1  Israel Kutaisi, Georgia
20:00 Bisseck 26' Report Turgeman 20' Stadium: Ramaz Shengelia Stadium
Referee: Willy Delajod (France)
25 June 2023 2023 UEFA EC Czech Republic  2–1  Germany Batumi, Georgia
20:00
Report Stiller 70' Stadium: Batumi Stadium
Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway)
28 June 2023 2023 UEFA EC England  2–0  Germany Batumi, Georgia
20:00
Report Stadium: Batumi Stadium
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan)
8 September 2023 Friendly Germany  2–0  Ukraine Saarbrücken
18:15
Report Stadium: Ludwigsparkstadion
Attendance: 6,503
Referee: Jasmin Sabotic (Luxembourg)
12 September 2023 2025 UEFA EC Q Kosovo  0–3  Germany Pristina
19:00 Report
Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium
Attendance: 1,950
Referee: Mikkel Redder (Denmark)
13 October 2023 2025 UEFA EC Q Bulgaria  2–3  Germany Sofia
18:15
Report Moukoko 40', 49', 69' Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov
Attendance: 1,223
Referee: Nathan Verboomen (Belgium)
17 November 2023 2025 UEFA EC Q Germany  4–1  Estonia Paderborn
18:00
Report Kuraksin 64' Stadium: Home Deluxe Arena
Attendance: 5,493
Referee: Danijar Sachi (Kazakhstan)
21 November 2023 2025 UEFA EC Q Germany  3–1  Poland Essen
18:00
Report Mosór 24' Stadium: Stadion an der Hafenstraße
Attendance: 8,559
Referee: Kyriakos Athanasiou (Cyprus)
22 March 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q Germany  0–0  Kosovo Chemnitz
18:00 Report Stadium: Stadion an der Gellertstraße
Attendance: 6,899
Referee: Daniele Chiffi (Italy)
26 March 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q Germany  2–0  Israel Halle
18:00
Report Stadium: Leuna Chemie Stadion
Attendance: 4,766
Referee: John Brooks (England)
4 September 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q Israel  v  Germany
Report
Note: The match, originally scheduled for 17 October 2023, was postponed due to the Israel–Hamas war.[2]
10 September 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q Estonia  v  Germany
Report
11 October 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q Germany  v  Bulgaria
Report
15 October 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q Poland  v  Germany
Report

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

Players born in or after 2002 are eligible for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The following players were called up for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Kosovo and Israel on 22 and 26 March 2024.[3]

Note: Names in italics denote players that have been called up to the senior team.

Caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2024.[4]
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Noah Atubolu (2002-05-25) 25 May 2002 (age 21) 14 0 Germany SC Freiburg
12 1GK Jonas Urbig (2003-08-08) 8 August 2003 (age 20) 3 0 Germany Jahn Regensburg
23 1GK Felix Gebhardt (2002-03-01) 1 March 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Germany Jahn Regensburg

2 2DF Julian Eitschberger (2004-03-05) 5 March 2004 (age 20) 1 0 Germany Hallescher FC
3 2DF Nathaniel Brown (2003-06-16) 16 June 2003 (age 20) 4 0 Germany 1. FC Nürnberg
4 2DF Bright Arrey-Mbi (2003-03-26) 26 March 2003 (age 21) 5 0 Germany Hannover 96
5 2DF Jamil Siebert (2002-04-02) 2 April 2002 (age 21) 4 0 Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf
14 2DF Linus Gechter (2004-02-27) 27 February 2004 (age 20) 2 0 Germany Hertha BSC
15 2DF Joshua Quarshie (2004-07-26) 26 July 2004 (age 19) 0 0 Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf
16 2DF Luca Netz (2003-05-15) 15 May 2003 (age 20) 14 0 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach

6 3MF Eric Martel (2002-04-29) 29 April 2002 (age 21) 16 1 Germany 1. FC Köln
7 3MF Ansgar Knauff (2002-01-10) 10 January 2002 (age 22) 16 1 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
8 3MF Merlin Röhl (2002-07-05) 5 July 2002 (age 21) 7 2 Germany SC Freiburg
11 3MF Jan Thielmann (2002-05-26) 26 May 2002 (age 21) 11 1 Germany 1. FC Köln
13 3MF Jens Castrop (2003-07-29) 29 July 2003 (age 20) 1 0 Germany 1. FC Nürnberg
17 3MF Brajan Gruda (2004-05-31) 31 May 2004 (age 19) 7 1 Germany Mainz 05
18 3MF Rocco Reitz (2002-05-29) 29 May 2002 (age 21) 4 2 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
20 3MF Paul Nebel (2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 (age 21) 3 0 Germany Karlsruher SC
22 3MF Umut Tohumcu (2004-08-11) 11 August 2004 (age 19) 1 0 Germany TSG Hoffenheim

9 4FW Youssoufa Moukoko (2004-11-20) 20 November 2004 (age 19) 13 12 Germany Borussia Dortmund
10 4FW Nick Woltemade (2002-02-14) 14 February 2002 (age 22) 6 1 Germany Werder Bremen
19 4FW Armindo Sieb (2003-02-17) 17 February 2003 (age 21) 1 0 Germany Greuther Fürth
21 4FW Nicolò Tresoldi (2004-08-20) 20 August 2004 (age 19) 3 0 Germany Hannover 96

Recent call-ups[edit]

The following players have previously been called up to the Germany under-21 squad in the last 12 months and remain eligible for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Tjark Ernst (2003-03-15) 15 March 2003 (age 21) 0 0 Germany Hertha BSC v.  Kosovo, 12 September 2023

DF Colin Kleine-Bekel (2003-01-24) 24 January 2003 (age 21) 5 1 Germany Holstein Kiel v.  Kosovo, 26 March 2024
DF Márton Dárdai (2002-02-12) 12 February 2002 (age 22) 8 0 Germany Hertha BSC v.  Poland, 21 November 2023
DF Leandro Morgalla (2004-09-13) 13 September 2004 (age 19) 3 0 Austria Red Bull Salzburg v.  Poland, 21 November 2023
DF Kenneth Schmidt (2002-06-03) 3 June 2002 (age 21) 4 0 Germany SC Freiburg v.  Bulgaria, 13 October 2023
DF Clemens Riedel (2003-07-19) 19 July 2003 (age 20) 1 0 Germany Darmstadt 98 v.  Bulgaria, 13 October 2023
DF Tom Rothe (2004-10-29) 29 October 2004 (age 19) 1 0 Germany Holstein Kiel v.  Kosovo, 12 September 2023
DF Marco John (2002-04-02) 2 April 2002 (age 21) 1 0 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim v.  Ukraine, 8 September 2023

MF Tim Breithaupt (2002-02-07) 7 February 2002 (age 22) 3 0 Germany FC Augsburg v.  Poland, 21 November 2023
MF Robert Wagner (2003-07-14) 14 July 2003 (age 20) 3 0 Germany Greuther Fürth v.  Bulgaria, 13 October 2023
FW Nicolò Tresoldi (2004-08-20) 20 August 2004 (age 19) 1 0 Germany Hannover 96 v.  Kosovo, 12 September 2023

FW Tim Lemperle (2002-02-05) 5 February 2002 (age 22) 7 1 Germany 1. FC Köln v.  Poland, 21 November 2023
FW Maximilian Beier (2002-10-17) 17 October 2002 (age 21) 5 2 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim v.  Poland, 21 November 2023
FW Karim Adeyemi (2002-01-18) 18 January 2002 (age 22) 4 0 Germany Borussia Dortmund v.  Bulgaria, 13 October 2023
FW Nelson Weiper (2005-03-17) 17 March 2005 (age 19) 3 0 Germany Mainz 05 v.  Ukraine, 8 September 2023

Past squads[edit]

Player records[edit]

Former coaches[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Our all-time Under-21 EURO dream team". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  2. ^ "UEFA postpones matches in Israel". UEFA.com. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Di Salvo beruft drei Neulinge". dfb.de. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  4. ^ "U 21-Nationalteam Männer Team". dfb.de. Retrieved 4 March 2014.

External links[edit]