National coach Julian Nagelsmann will announce his squad for the final international matches of the national soccer team in 2023 on Friday (November 10th, 2023). Manuel Neuer won’t be there, but Marvin Ducksch could make his debut. The DFB selection will play against Turkey in the Berlin Olympic Stadium on November 18th (8:45 p.m.) and three days later against Austria in Vienna.
Nagelsmann successfully played his first games as national coach against the USA (3:1) and Mexico (2:2). Before the home European Championship from June 14, 2024, there will be two international test matches next March and probably another two games in direct preparation for the tournament after the end of the national leagues.
Neuer is not yet back in the DFB squad
Manuel Neuer’s name will not be mentioned when the squad is announced. The FC Bayern Munich goalkeeper recently emphasized, “been in exchange for a long time“Standing with Nagelsmann and that there was a conversation after the 4-0 win against Borussia Dortmund last weekend, but he also said: “I still need time for myself, the games come too early.“
Next year he will aim for his comeback and then try to replace Marc-André ter Stegen as number one again. “I will show up to play. I always want to be on the pitch” said Neuer.
Manuel Neuer from FC Bayern Munich
Ducksch and Füllkrug shot Bremen into the Bundesliga
What will be more exciting will be the question of which striker Nagelsmann will nominate for the games against Turkey and in Austria. The national coach recently nominated Kevin Behrens for the first time, but not only his club Union Berlin is going through a sporting decline, but also he himself. Behrens has not scored since the 2nd Bundesliga matchday (August 26th) and was recently only a joker in the 0:3 against Eintracht Frankfurt.
And so it is possible that a successful duo will reunite. Niclas Füllkrug is set and will definitely be there – and it seems entirely possible that he will get reinforcements from a former colleague. Marvin Ducksch is considered a promising candidate; the two shot SV Werder Bremen back into the Bundesliga with 39 goals in the 2021/22 season, after which they ensured that they stayed in the league with a total of 40 goals.
“If a door to the national team opens at some point, I would of course like to go through it“Ducksch recently told “Bild” and made it clear that the coaching change to Nagelsmann fueled his hopes.”We now have a coach who judges even more based on performance.“
Does Beier (also) get a chance in the National team?
And in fact, Ducksch has recently attracted positive attention in terms of performance. The 29-year-old has been involved in eight goals in the last eight league games, with his free-kick goal against Wolfsburg (2-2) underlining his strength at set pieces – which the DFB team still needs to improve on.
But Ducksch is not the only striker who has drawn attention and is hoping for a nomination on Friday. In addition to Bremen, Maximilian Beier from TSG Hoffenheim is certainly a candidate.
Hoffenheim striker Maximilian Beier
The 21-year-old has an even better score with ten points from the last nine games, but he is also a different type of player. Maybe Nagelsmann will even find space for both players.