Germany national under-21 football team

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.

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)

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

For the East Germany team record, look here.

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

UEFA U-23 Championship record

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 1972Quarterfinals8th201113 65101111972
Europe 1974did not qualify 4211731974
Europe 1976did not enter did not enter1976
TotalQuarterfinals1/3201113 10721184Total

UEFA U-21 Championship record

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 1978did not enter did not enter 1978
Europe 1980 1980
Europe 1982Runners-up2nd6402159 65011551982
Europe 1984did not qualify 63301341984
Europe 1986 6312961986
Europe 1988 63031291988
Europe 1990Quarterfinals6th201123 64201021990
Europe 1992Quarterfinals6th201145 44001211992
France 1994did not qualify 85032081994
Spain 1996Quarterfinals7th201114 86112251996
Romania 1998Quarterfinals5th320132 86202031998
Slovakia 2000did not qualify 8413972000
Switzerland 2002 85121872002
Germany 2004Group stage6th310245 85211362004
Portugal 2006Group stage7th310214 129302752006
Netherlands 2007did not qualify 4202862007
Sweden 2009Champions1st532081 106312642009
Denmark 2011did not qualify 833226102011
Israel 2013Group stage6th310245 12102043112013
Czech Republic 2015Semifinals3rd412157 108203052015
Poland 2017Champions1st531183 1010003582017
Italy 2019Runners-up2nd5311157 108113372019
Hungary Slovenia 2021Champions1st633094 860222102021
Romania Georgia (country) 2023Group stage-301225 109013292023
Total 3 titles 14/24 52 22 13* 17 81 64 1761242725465138Total

Individual awards

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

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Poland 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9 9 Final tournament 15 Oct '24 26 Mar '24 3–0 5–0 17 Nov
2  Germany 2 2 0 0 6 2 +4 6 Play-offs 21 Nov 11 Oct '24 22 Mar '24 17 Nov 26 Mar '24
3  Bulgaria 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 5 10 Sep '24 2–3 1–1 21 Nov 1–0
4  Kosovo 4 1 1 2 3 7 4 4 11 Oct '24 0–3 17 Nov 2–0 10 Sep '24
5  Estonia 4 0 1 3 1 9 8 1 0–1 10 Sep '24 1–1 15 Oct '24 6 Sep '24
6  Israel 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 21 Mar '24 TBD 15 Oct '24 21 Nov TBD
Updated to match(es) played on 17 October 2023. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

19 November 2022 Friendly Italy  2–4  Germany Ancona
17:30 Cancellieri 66', 74' Report Stadium: Stadio del Conero
Attendance: 5,287
Referee: Miloš Milanović (Serbia)
24 March 2023 Friendly Germany  2–2  Japan Frankfurt
18:15 Report
Stadium: Stadion am Bornheimer Hang
Attendance: 6,161
Referee: Jasper Vergoote (Belgium)
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  v  Estonia Paderborn
18:00 Report Stadium: Home Deluxe Arena
21 November 2023 2025 UEFA EC Q Germany  v  Poland Essen
18:00 Report Stadium: Stadion an der Hafenstraße
22 March 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q Germany  v  Kosovo
Report
26 March 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q Germany  v  Israel
Report
10 September 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q Estonia  v  Germany
Report
TBD 2025 UEFA EC Q Israel  v  Germany
Report
Note: The match, originally scheduled for 17 October 2023, was postponed due to the October 2023 Gaza−Israel conflict.[2]

Players

Current squad

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 Bulgaria on 13 October 2023.[3]

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

Caps and goals correct as of 13 October 2023.[4]
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Noah Atubolu (2002-05-25) 25 May 2002 11 0 Germany SC Freiburg
12 1GK Jonas Urbig (2003-08-08) 8 August 2003 2 0 Germany Jahn Regensburg
23 1GK Felix Gebhardt (2002-03-01) 1 March 2002 0 0 Germany Jahn Regensburg

2 2DF Leandro Morgalla (2004-09-13) 13 September 2004 1 0 Austria Red Bull Salzburg
3 2DF Nathaniel Brown (2003-06-16) 16 June 2003 2 0 Germany 1. FC Nürnberg
4 2DF Bright Arrey-Mbi (2003-03-26) 26 March 2003 2 0 Germany Hannover 96
5 2DF Kenneth Schmidt (2002-06-03) 3 June 2002 4 0 Germany SC Freiburg
13 2DF Julian Eitschberger (2004-03-05) 5 March 2004 1 0 Germany Hallescher FC
15 2DF Colin Kleine-Bekel (2003-01-24) 24 January 2003 3 1 Germany Holstein Kiel
16 2DF Luca Netz (2003-05-15) 15 May 2003 12 0 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach

6 3MF Rocco Reitz (2002-05-29) 29 May 2002 0 0 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
7 3MF Ansgar Knauff (2002-01-10) 10 January 2002 12 1 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
8 3MF Merlin Röhl (2002-07-05) 5 July 2002 3 0 Germany SC Freiburg
18 3MF Robert Wagner (2003-07-14) 14 July 2003 3 0 Germany Greuther Fürth
22 3MF Tim Breithaupt (2002-02-07) 7 February 2002 3 0 Germany FC Augsburg

9 4FW Youssoufa Moukoko (2004-11-20) 20 November 2004 9 11 Germany Borussia Dortmund
10 4FW Nick Woltemade (2002-02-14) 14 February 2002 2 0 Germany Werder Bremen
11 4FW Karim Adeyemi (2002-01-18) 18 January 2002 4 0 Germany Borussia Dortmund
17 4FW Brajan Gruda (2004-05-31) 31 May 2004 3 0 Germany Mainz 05
19 4FW Tim Lemperle (2002-02-05) 5 February 2002 5 1 Germany 1. FC Köln
20 4FW Paul Nebel (2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 2 0 Germany Karlsruher SC
21 4FW Maximilian Beier (2002-10-17) 17 October 2002 3 1 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim

Recent call-ups

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 0 0 Germany Hertha BSC v.  Kosovo, 12 September 2023

DF Clemens Riedel (2003-07-19) 19 July 2003 1 0 Germany Darmstadt 98 v.  Bulgaria, 13 October 2023
DF Jamil Siebert (2002-04-02) 2 April 2002 1 0 Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf v.  Bulgaria, 13 October 2023
DF Tom Rothe (2004-10-29) 29 October 2004 1 0 Germany Holstein Kiel v.  Kosovo, 12 September 2023
DF Linus Gechter (2004-02-27) 27 February 2004 2 0 Germany Hertha BSC v.  Kosovo, 12 September 2023
DF Marco John (2002-04-02) 2 April 2002 1 0 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim v.  Ukraine, 8 September 2023
DF Márton Dárdai (2002-02-12) 12 February 2002 6 0 Germany Hertha BSC 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

MF Márton Dárdai (2002-02-12) 12 February 2002 6 0 Germany Hertha BSC v.  Bulgaria, 13 October 2023
MF Eric Martel (2002-04-29) 29 April 2002 12 0 Germany 1. FC Köln v.  Kosovo, 12 September 2023
FW Nicolò Tresoldi (2004-08-20) 20 August 2004 1 0 Germany Hannover 96 v.  Kosovo, 12 September 2023

FW Nelson Weiper (2005-03-17) 17 March 2005 3 0 Germany Mainz 05 v.  Ukraine, 8 September 2023
FW Jan Thielmann (2002-05-26) 26 May 2002 7 1 Germany 1. FC Köln 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Past squads

Player records

Former coaches

See also

Notes

    References

    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. "U 21-Kader mit Adeyemi und zwei Neulingen". dfb.de. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
    4. "U 21-Nationalteam Männer Team". dfb.de. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
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