Germany national under-21 football team

Germany Under-21
Association	Deutscher Fußball-Bund
Head coach	Antonio Di Salvo
Captain	Jonathan Burkardt
Most caps	Fabian Ernst (31)
Top scorer	Pierre Littbarski (18)
First colours	Second colours
First international
	U-23:; West Germany 3–3 Yugoslavia ; (Frankfurt, West Germany; 25 June 1955); U-21:; Poland 1–0 West Germany ; (Toruń, Poland; 10 October 1979)
Biggest win
	U-23:; West Germany 3–0 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 3–1 West Germany ; (Yerevan, Soviet Union; 29 April 1972); U-21:; Portugal 5–0 Germany ; (Olomouc, Czech Republic; 27 June 2015)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances	14 (first in 1982)
Best result	Winners (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.

1972–1990 as West Germany
1994–present as Germany

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
1972	Quarterfinals	8th	2	0	1	1	1	3	6	5	1	0	11	1	1972
1974	did not qualify								4	2	1	1	7	3	1974
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
1978	did not enter								did not enter						1978
1980	did not enter								did not enter						1980
1982	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	0	2	15	9	6	5	0	1	15	5	1982
1984	did not qualify								6	3	3	0	13	4	1984
1986									6	3	1	2	9	6	1986
1988									6	3	0	3	12	9	1988
1990	Quarterfinals	6th	2	0	1	1	2	3	6	4	2	0	10	2	1990
1992	Quarterfinals	6th	2	0	1	1	4	5	4	4	0	0	12	1	1992
1994	did not qualify								8	5	0	3	20	8	1994
1996	Quarterfinals	7th	2	0	1	1	1	4	8	6	1	1	22	5	1996
1998	Quarterfinals	5th	3	2	0	1	3	2	8	6	2	0	20	3	1998
2000	did not qualify								8	4	1	3	9	7	2000
2002	did not qualify								8	5	1	2	18	7	2002
2004	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	4	5	8	5	2	1	13	6	2004
2006	Group stage	7th	3	1	0	2	1	4	12	9	3	0	27	5	2006
2007	did not qualify								4	2	0	2	8	6	2007
2009	Champions	1st	5	3	2	0	8	1	10	6	3	1	26	4	2009
2011	did not qualify								8	3	3	2	26	10	2011
2013	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	4	5	12	10	2	0	43	11	2013
2015	Semifinals	3rd	4	1	2	1	5	7	10	8	2	0	30	5	2015
2017	Champions	1st	5	3	1	1	8	3	10	10	0	0	35	8	2017
2019	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	15	7	10	8	1	1	33	7	2019
2021	Champions	1st	6	3	3	0	9	4	8	6	0	2	22	10	2021
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]

Golden Player: Rudi Völler (1982)
Silver Boot: Kevin Volland (2015)

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:

Goal: Manuel Neuer
Defence: Mats Hummels
Midfield: Mesut Özil

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship[edit]

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Poland	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	6	Final tournament	—	26 Mar '24	15 Oct '24	3–0	17 Oct	17 Nov
2	Bulgaria	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4	Play-offs	10 Sep '24	—	13 Oct	17 Oct	21 Nov	1–0
3	Germany	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	3		21 Nov	11 Oct '24	—	22 Mar '24	17 Nov	26 Mar '24
4	Kosovo	3	1	0	2	2	6	−4	3		11 Oct '24	17 Nov	0–3	—	2–0	10 Sep '24
5	Estonia	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1		0–1	1–1	10 Sep '24	15 Oct '24	—	6 Sep '24
6	Israel	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0		21 Mar '24	15 Oct '24	17 Oct	21 Nov	12 Oct	—

Updated to match(es) played on 12 September 2023. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Results and fixtures[edit]

Win Draw Loss

23 September 2022 Friendly	Germany	0–1	France	Magdeburg
18:15		Report	Gouiri 53'	Stadium: MDCC-Arena Attendance: 5,427 Referee: Krzysztof Jakubik (Poland)

27 September 2022 Friendly	England	3–1	Germany	Sheffield
20:45	Balogun 41' Gallagher 47' Palmer 90+5'	Report	Nmecha 35'	Stadium: Bramall Lane Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albania)

19 November 2022 Friendly	Italy	2–4	Germany	Ancona
17:30	Cancellieri 66', 74'	Report	Huseinbašić 23' Samardžić 52' Schade 56' Malone 88' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadio del Conero Attendance: 5,287 Referee: Miloš Milanović (Serbia)

24 March 2023 Friendly	Germany	2–2	Japan	Frankfurt
18:15	Ngankam 40' (pen.) Huseinbašić 49'	Report	Sato 43' Hosoya 46'	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	Sejk 33' Vitík 87'	Report	Stiller 70'	Stadium: Batumi Stadium Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway)

28 June 2023 2023 UEFA EC	England	2–0	Germany	Batumi, Georgia
20:00	Archer 4' Elliott 21'	Report		Stadium: Batumi Stadium Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan)

8 September 2023 Friendly	Germany	2–0	Ukraine	Saarbrücken
18:15	Beier 53' Lemperle 88'	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	Moukoko 74', 78' Kleine-Bekel 89'	Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium Attendance: 1,950 Referee: Mikkel Redder (Denmark)

13 October 2023 2025 UEFA EC Q	Bulgaria	v	Germany	Sofia
		Report		Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov

17 October 2023 2025 UEFA EC Q	Israel	v	Germany	Petah Tikva
18:30		Report		Stadium: HaMoshava Stadium

17 November 2023 2025 UEFA EC Q	Germany	v	Estonia
		Report

21 November 2023 2025 UEFA EC Q	Germany	v	Poland
		Report

22 March 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q	Germany	v	Kosovo
		Report

26 March 2024 2025 UEFA EC Q	Germany	v	Israel
		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 friendly match against Ukraine and the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Kosovo on 8 and 12 September 2023.^[2]

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

Caps and goals correct as of 12 September 2023.^[3]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Jonas Urbig	(2003-08-08) 8 August 2003 (age 20)	2	0	Jahn Regensburg
12	1GK	Tjark Ernst	(2003-03-15) 15 March 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Hertha BSC
23	1GK	Felix Gebhardt	(2002-03-01) 1 March 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Jahn Regensburg

2	2DF	Jamil Siebert	(2002-04-02) 2 April 2002 (age 21)	1	0	Fortuna Düsseldorf
3	2DF	Nathaniel Brown	(2003-06-16) 16 June 2003 (age 20)	2	0	1. FC Nürnberg
4	2DF	Bright Arrey-Mbi	(2003-03-26) 26 March 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Hannover 96
5	2DF	Kenneth Schmidt	(2002-06-03) 3 June 2002 (age 21)	3	0	SC Freiburg
13	2DF	Tom Rothe	(2004-10-29) 29 October 2004 (age 18)	1	0	Holstein Kiel
14	2DF	Linus Gechter	(2004-02-27) 27 February 2004 (age 19)	2	0	Hertha BSC
15	2DF	Colin Kleine-Bekel	(2003-01-24) 24 January 2003 (age 20)	2	1	Holstein Kiel
16	2DF	Clemens Riedel	(2003-07-19) 19 July 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Darmstadt 98

6	3MF	Eric Martel	(2002-04-29) 29 April 2002 (age 21)	12	0	1. FC Köln
7	3MF	Ansgar Knauff	(2002-01-10) 10 January 2002 (age 21)	11	1	Eintracht Frankfurt
8	3MF	Merlin Röhl	(2002-07-05) 5 July 2002 (age 21)	2	0	SC Freiburg
9	4FW	Nicolò Tresoldi	(2004-08-20) 20 August 2004 (age 19)	1	0	Hannover 96
18	3MF	Robert Wagner	(2003-07-14) 14 July 2003 (age 20)	2	0	Greuther Fürth
22	3MF	Tim Breithaupt	(2002-02-07) 7 February 2002 (age 21)	2	0	FC Augsburg

10	4FW	Nick Woltemade	(2002-02-14) 14 February 2002 (age 21)	2	0	Werder Bremen
11	4FW	Youssoufa Moukoko	(2004-11-20) 20 November 2004 (age 18)	8	8	Borussia Dortmund
17	4FW	Brajan Gruda	(2004-05-31) 31 May 2004 (age 19)	2	0	Mainz 05
19	4FW	Tim Lemperle	(2002-02-05) 5 February 2002 (age 21)	4	1	1. FC Köln
20	4FW	Paul Nebel	(2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 (age 20)	2	0	Karlsruher SC
21	4FW	Maximilian Beier	(2002-10-17) 17 October 2002 (age 20)	2	1	1899 Hoffenheim

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	Noah Atubolu	(2002-05-25) 25 May 2002 (age 21)	10	0	SC Freiburg	v. Ukraine, 8 September 2023

DF	Marco John	(2002-04-02) 2 April 2002 (age 21)	1	0	1899 Hoffenheim	v. Ukraine, 8 September 2023
DF	Luca Netz	(2003-05-15) 15 May 2003 (age 20)	11	0	Borussia Mönchengladbach	2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF	Márton Dárdai	(2002-02-12) 12 February 2002 (age 21)	6	0	Hertha BSC	2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

FW	Nelson Weiper	(2005-03-17) 17 March 2005 (age 18)	3	0	Mainz 05	v. Ukraine, 8 September 2023
FW	Jan Thielmann	(2002-05-26) 26 May 2002 (age 21)	7	1	1. FC Köln	2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Past squads[edit]

Player records[edit]

Most caps

No. of caps	Player	U-21 career
31	Fabian Ernst	1998–2001
30	Levin Öztunalı	2015–2019
27	Andreas Beck	2007–2009
26	Mike Hanke	2003–2005
25	Dennis Aogo	2007–2009
24	Christian Tiffert	2002–2004
	Daniel Schwaab	2007–2010
	Lewis Holtby	2009–2013
	Moritz Leitner	2011–2015
	Nadiem Amiri	2016–2019

Most goals

No. of goals	No. of caps	Player	U-21 career
18	21	Pierre Littbarski	1979–1982
17	20	Heiko Herrlich	1990–1993
15	23	Benjamin Auer	2002–2004
14	26	Mike Hanke	2003–2005
14	24	Lewis Holtby	2009–2013
13	21	Rouwen Hennings	2007–2009
11	22	Kevin Volland	2012–2015
10	19	Rudi Völler	1979–1982
	22	Christian Nerlinger	1992–1996
	15	Luca Waldschmidt	2017–2019
	17	Lukas Nmecha	2019–2021

Former coaches[edit]

Hannes Löhr (1990–2002)
Jürgen Kohler (2002–2003)
Uli Stielike (2003–2004)
Dieter Eilts (2004–2008)
Horst Hrubesch (2008–2009)
Rainer Adrion (2009–2013)
Horst Hrubesch (2013–2016)
Stefan Kuntz (2016–2021)
Antonio Di Salvo (2021–)

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

^ "Our all-time Under-21 EURO dream team". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^ "Di Salvo beruft Kader für Spiele gegen Ukraine und Kosovo". dfb.de. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
^ "U 21-Nationalteam Männer Team". dfb.de. Retrieved 4 March 2014.

External links[edit]

Site of the Under-21 national team at the German Football Association homepage

[1] "Our all-time Under-21 EURO dream team". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2016.

[2] "Di Salvo beruft Kader für Spiele gegen Ukraine und Kosovo". dfb.de. Retrieved 1 September 2023.

[3] "U 21-Nationalteam Männer Team". dfb.de. Retrieved 4 March 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Germany national football team
General	German Football Association History Honours Managers Captains Kits
Venues	Home venues
Statistics	All-time Records Goal Records Hat-tricks Matches 1908–1929 1930–1942 1950–1990 1990–1999 2000–2019 2020–present
Players	20+ caps 5–19 caps 1–4 caps Born outside Germany Captains Previous squads Other categories
Goals	Miroslav Klose Gerd Müller Ernst Willimowski
World Finals	Summary 1934 1938 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 details 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
European Finals	Summary 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other tournaments	FIFA Confederations Cup Olympics Mundialito Azteca 2000 Four Nations U.S. Cup UEFA Nations League
Rivalries	Argentina Brazil England France Italy Netherlands West Germany–East Germany
Culture	Noted matches Paul the Octopus Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen
Other DFB teams	B team Olympic team U21 team U20 team Other youth teams Women Women's youth teams
Women's World Finals	Summary 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023

v t e Football in Germany
German Football Association
League competitions	Bundesliga 2. Bundesliga 3. Liga Regionalliga Oberliga Verbandsliga Landesliga Bezirksoberliga Gruppenliga Bezirksliga Kreisliga Kreisklasse
Cup competitions	DFB-Pokal DFL-Ligapokal DFL-Supercup Verbandspokal
National teams	National team B team Olympic team U-21 U-20 Youth U-19 U-18 U-17 U-16 U-15 Manager All-time record World Cup performance
By city	Berlin Munich
Champions Clubs Clubs in Europe Records Honours History Rivalries Venues Player category Men's international players 5–19 caps 1–4 caps Women's international players Footballer of the Year