Gruda left
©IMAGO
In addition to Brajan Gruda (21), Nnamdi Collins (21) will also miss the U21 national team’s international match against Greece on Friday (6 p.m./ProSieben Maxx). While Gruda had to leave on Tuesday due to persistent knee problems, Collins still has some hope for the games in Northern Ireland four days later. As an addition, coach Antonio Di Salvo has nominated the two defenders Julian Pauli (20) from Dynamo Dresden and Tim Drexler (20) from 1. FC Nürnberg.
Collins, who was recently promoted to senior international status, has so far stayed at home due to an infection. Di Salvo hopes that the full-back will be fit for the game on Tuesday (6:30 p.m./ProSieben Maxx) in Belfast. The Frankfurt player made his debut for the DFB team in September, but was unfortunate and was left out in October. At the U21 European Championships in the summer, when the selection lost to England in the final, he was a regular at right-back.
Both Pauli and Drexler are not yet playing for the U21 national team and could make their debut – as could Tom Bischof. He received a commitment guarantee from Di Salvo. “He is a player from whom I hope a lot and I believe that he can give our game a structure that will help us,” explained Di Salvo. The coach left it open who will lead the team as the new captain. Aljoscha Kemlein and Finn Jeltsch, who wore the captain’s armband in the starting line-up at the international matches in September, are missing this time due to injury.
Di Salvo’s selection got off to a successful start in qualifying in September with a 5-0 win against Latvia. The next U21 European Championships will take place in Albania and Serbia in 2027. In the qualifying group, the German team will also face Georgia and Malta as favorites. The nine group winners and the best runner-up qualify for the final round. The eight remaining group runners-up will compete in playoffs to determine the final four participants in the final round.