European Championship qualifiers against Malta & Georgia
©IMAGO
After Said El Mala’s promotion to the senior national team squad (see article), Lennart Karl from FC Bayern Munich covers the role of Bundesliga shooting star in the German U21. The 17-year-old offensive player was called up to the DFB junior squad for the first time by coach Antonio Di Salvo for the European Championship qualifiers against Malta (November 14th, 6 p.m.) and in Georgia (November 18th, 6 p.m.).
Arijon Ibrahimovic from 1. FC Heidenheim is also new. The attacking midfielder is currently on loan to FCH from FC Bayern. Augsburg’s Anton Kade can also hope for his first appearance with the U21. The 21-year-old was nominated for the September course, but had to leave early due to an injury.
Returning to the squad are goalkeeper Mio Backhaus (Werder Bremen), defenders Nnamdi Collins (Eintracht Frankfurt), Finn Jeltsch (VfB Stuttgart), Joshua Quarshie (FC Southampton) and Aaron Zehnter (VfL Wolfsburg) as well as midfield youngster Aljoscha Kemlein (Union Berlin).
“The goal for the last qualifying games this year is very clear: we want to win both games and get six points,” said Di Salvo. “That’s why I’m happy that we can again rely on some players in the defensive area who were unfortunately missing recently due to injuries. This is important in order to achieve defensive stability. I’m also pleased to be able to reward two players, Lennart Karl and Arijon Ibrahimovic, for their good performances in the last few weeks and to nominate them for the squad.”
Compared to last time, the injured Hendry Blank (Hannover 96), Linus Gechter (Hertha BSC) and Brajan Gruda (Brighton & Hove Albion) are not part of the team. El Mala can also prove himself in the A selection for the first time. After the surprising defeat against Greece, the U21s need two wins in order not to fall further behind in the race for a ticket to the 2027 European Championships in Albania and Serbia.