Bayern’s Mike most valuable player
©IMAGO
On Thursday, DFB coach Marc Meister nominated a total of 21 players born in 2008 from nine different clubs for the U17 World Cup in November in Qatar. The core of the team includes Gladbach goalkeeper Marcello Trippel, Frankfurt’s top scorer Alexander Staff as well as Ben Hawighorst (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) and Elias Vali Fard (Borussia Mönchengladbach). Bayern Munich’s Wisdom Mike has the highest market value at 3 million euros.
Eight promising newcomers who were not yet part of the European Championship squad also receive the trust of Meister. These include three young talents from RB Leipzig: Benno Kaltefleiter, Abdul Baki Al Khalaf and Toni Langsteiner. The coach explained with regard to his squad: “The nomination was certainly not an easy process – timing or bad luck with injuries play a role. Our squad for the tournament is the result of a lot of development in the last few months, a lot of training and good game performances from our boys – everyone has worked hard to take part. We want to represent our country with great pride and show that we are ready to win games at a high level. You may only get this chance once in a year Life – and we will use it!”
For the first time, the competition will be held in Qatar with 48 teams. Germany plays in Group G and opens the tournament against Colombia on November 4th. The champion team will then face North Korea and El Salvador. Starting next week, the German youngsters will be preparing for the World Cup in Dubai as part of a test against Canada. Anyone who wants to follow the tournament games live in this country can do so via the world association’s streaming platform FIFA+.
The German U17 squad for the World Cup in Qatar
Goal: Tjark Möbius (1. FC Magdeburg), Leonard Reiners (1. FC Cologne), Marcello Trippel (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Field: Natnael Abraha (TSG Hoffenheim), Maik Afri Akumu (1. FC Köln), Abdul Al Khalaf (RB Leipzig), Nebe Sirak Domnic (Bayer Leverkusen), Ben Hawighorst (Bayer Leverkusen), Eba Bekir Is (Eintracht Frankfurt), Mussa Kaba (Borussia Dortmund), Benno Kaltefleiter (RB Leipzig), Toni Langsteiner (RB Leipzig), Benjamin Ley (1. FC Köln), Jeremiah Dennit Mensah (Bayer Leverkusen), Wisdom Mike (FC Bayern Munich), Keziah Oteng-Mensah (Eintracht Frankfurt), Christian Prenaj (Eintracht Frankfurt), Niklas Scheller (Eintracht Frankfurt), Alexander Staff (Eintracht Frankfurt), Osman Turay (Bayer Leverkusen), Elias Vali Fard (Borussia Mönchengladbach)