Germany national under-21 football team

The Germany national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Germany in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship and is controlled by the German Football Association (DFB), the governing body of football in Germany.

Germany Under-21

Association	Deutscher Fußball-Bund
Head coach	Antonio Di Salvo
Captain	Tom Bischof
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)

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

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

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

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																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		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		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										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		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	15th	3	0	1	2	2	5		10	9	0	1	32	9	2023
2025	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	0	1	17	7		10	8	2	0	35	10	2025
Total	3 titles	15/25	58	27	13*	18	98	71		186	132	29	25	500	148	Total

Individual awards

• Golden Player: Rudi Völler (1982)
• Golden Boot: Luca Waldschmidt (2019), Lukas Nmecha (2021), Nick Woltemade (2025)
• Silver Boot: Kevin Volland (2015)
• Bronze Boot: Marco Richter (2019)

EURO Under-21 dream team

On 17 June 2015, UEFA revealed an all-time best XI from the previous Under-21 final tournaments.

Included players from Germany:

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

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Greece	5	5	0	0	16	2	+14	15	Final tournament		—	31 Mar '26	4–0	3–0	1 Oct '26	27 Mar '26
2	Germany	5	4	0	1	17	4	+13	12	Play-offs		2–3	—	27 Mar '26	6 Oct '26	5–0	6–0
3	Northern Ireland	5	2	1	2	5	7	−2	7			6 Oct '26	1–2	—	1 Oct '26	1–0	2–0
4	Georgia	5	1	2	2	7	7	0	5			26 Sep '26	0–2	1–1	—	27 Mar '26	31 Mar '26
5	Latvia	5	1	1	3	2	8	−6	4			0–1	26 Sep '26	31 Mar '26	1–1	—	6 Oct '26
6	Malta	5	0	0	5	0	19	−19	0			0–5	30 Sep '26	26 Sep '26	0–5	0–1	—

Updated to match(es) played on 18 November 2025. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

Slovakia  v  Germany

21 March 2025 Friendly	Slovakia	0–1	Germany	Trnava
18:00		Report	Gruda 34'	Stadium: Anton Malatinský Stadium Attendance: 1,721 Referee: Marek Radina (Czech Republic)

Germany  v  Spain

25 March 2025 Friendly	Germany	3–1	Spain	Darmstadt
20:30	Woltemade 3', 56', 79'	Report	Veiga 19'	Stadium: Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor Attendance: 16,267 Referee: Vassilis Fotias (Greece)

Germany  v  Slovenia

12 June 2025 2025 UEFA Euro	Germany	3–0	Slovenia	Nitra, Slovakia
21:00	Woltemade 19', 42', 82' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Štadión pod Zoborom Attendance: 2,708 Referee: Jakob Sundberg (Denmark)

Czech Republic  v  Germany

15 June 2025 2025 UEFA Euro	Czech Republic	2–4	Germany	Dunajská Streda, Slovakia
21:00	Arrey-Mbi 61' (o.g.) Spáčil 66'	Report	Tresoldi 34' Nebel 41' Woltemade 54' Martel 59'	Stadium: MOL Aréna Attendance: 7,870 Referee: Alexis Herrera (Venezuela)

England  v  Germany

18 June 2025 2025 UEFA Euro	England	1–2	Germany	Nitra, Slovakia
21:00	Scott 76'	Report	Knauff 3' Weiper 33'	Stadium: Štadión pod Zoborom Attendance: 5,624 Referee: Sander van der Eijk (Netherlands)

Germany  v  Italy

22 June 2025 2025 UEFA Euro	Germany	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Italy	Dunajská Streda, Slovakia
21:00	Woltemade 68' Weiper 87' Röhl 117'	Report	Koleosho 58' Ambrosino 90+6'	Stadium: MOL Aréna Attendance: 6,503 Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas (Lithuania)

Germany  v  France

25 June 2025 2025 UEFA Euro	Germany	3–0	France	Košice, Slovakia
21:00	Weiper 8' Woltemade 14' Gruda 90+5'	Report		Stadium: Košická futbalová aréna Attendance: 11,913 Referee: Nick Walsh (Scotland)

England  v  Germany

28 June 2025 2025 UEFA Euro	England	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Germany	Tehelné pole, Slovakia
21:00	Elliott 5' Hutchinson 24' Rowe 92'	Report	Weiper 45+1' Nebel 61'	Stadium: Tehelné pole Attendance: 19,153 Referee: Sander van der Eijk (Netherlands)

Albania  v  Germany

5 September 2025 Friendly	Albania	0–2	Germany	Elbasan
18:00		Report	Ansah 48' Pejčinović 52'	Stadium: Elbasan Arena Attendance: 2,234 Referee: Eldorjan Hamiti (Albania)

Germany  v  Latvia

9 September 2025 2027 UEFA EC Q	Germany	5–0	Latvia	Rostock
20:30	Weiper 19' Tresoldi 44', 50', 57' Damar 59'	Report		Stadium: Ostseestadion Attendance: 9,019 Referee: Łukasz Kuźma (Poland)

Germany  v  Greece

10 October 2025 2027 UEFA EC Q	Germany	2–3	Greece	Jena
18:00	Damar 54' Rothe 59'	Report	Kostoulas 13' Tzimas 14' Rallis 81'	Stadium: Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld Attendance: 7,830 Referee: Matteo Marcenaro (Italy)

Northern Ireland  v  Germany

14 October 2025 2027 UEFA EC Q	Northern Ireland	1–2	Germany	Belfast
18:30	McConville 4'	Report	Ouédraogo 79' Pejčinović 83' (pen.)	Stadium: The Oval Attendance: 1,152 Referee: Patrik Kolarić (Croatia)

Germany  v  Malta

14 November 2025 2027 UEFA EC Q	Germany	6–0	Malta	Fürth
18:00	Bischof 9', 63', 65' Karl 37', 67' Damar 86'	Report		Stadium: Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer Attendance: 7,729 Referee: David Fuxman (Israel)

Georgia  v  Germany

18 November 2025 2027 UEFA EC Q	Georgia	0–2	Germany	Tbilisi
21:00		Report	Karl 45+2' Tresoldi 58'	Stadium: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium Attendance: 2,357 Referee: Ashot Ghaltakhchyan (Armenia)

Germany  v  Northern Ireland

27 March 2026 2027 UEFA EC Q	Germany	v	Northern Ireland
		Report

Greece  v  Germany

31 March 2026 2027 UEFA EC Q	Greece	v	Germany
		Report

Players

Current squad

Players born in or after 2004 are eligible for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The following players were called up for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying matches against Malta and Georgia on 14 and 18 November 2025.

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

Caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2025, after the match against Georgia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Dennis Seimen	(2005-12-01) 1 December 2005 (age 20)	4	0	SC Paderborn
12	1GK	Mio Backhaus	(2004-04-16) 16 April 2004 (age 21)	3	0	Werder Bremen
23	1GK	Max Weiß	(2004-06-15) 15 June 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Burnley
2	2DF	Leandro Morgalla	(2004-09-13) 13 September 2004 (age 21)	7	0	VfL Bochum
3	2DF	Lukas Ullrich	(2004-03-16) 16 March 2004 (age 21)	9	0	Borussia Mönchengladbach
4	2DF	Finn Jeltsch	(2006-07-17) 17 July 2006 (age 19)	4	0	VfB Stuttgart
5	2DF	Nnamdi Collins	(2004-01-10) 10 January 2004 (age 21)	12	0	Eintracht Frankfurt
14	2DF	Aaron Zehnter	(2004-10-31) 31 October 2004 (age 21)	2	0	VfL Wolfsburg
15	2DF	Joshua Quarshie	(2004-07-26) 26 July 2004 (age 21)	4	0	Southampton
6	3MF	Tom Bischof (captain)	(2005-06-28) 28 June 2005 (age 20)	4	3	TSG Hoffenheim
7	3MF	Anton Kade	(2004-01-17) 17 January 2004 (age 21)	2	0	FC Augsburg
8	3MF	Noel Aseko	(2005-11-22) 22 November 2005 (age 20)	5	0	Hannover 96
10	3MF	Muhammed Damar	(2004-04-09) 9 April 2004 (age 21)	6	3	TSG Hoffenheim
13	3MF	Said El Mala	(2006-08-26) 26 August 2006 (age 19)	5	0	1. FC Köln
16	3MF	Aljoscha Kemlein	(2004-08-02) 2 August 2004 (age 21)	6	0	Union Berlin
17	3MF	Arijon Ibrahimović	(2005-12-11) 11 December 2005 (age 20)	1	0	1. FC Heidenheim
18	3MF	Mert Kömür	(2005-07-17) 17 July 2005 (age 20)	4	0	FC Augsburg
21	3MF	Lennart Karl	(2008-02-22) 22 February 2008 (age 17)	2	3	Bayern Munich
22	3MF	Mika Baur	(2004-07-09) 9 July 2004 (age 21)	0	0	SC Paderborn
9	4FW	Nicolò Tresoldi	(2004-08-20) 20 August 2004 (age 21)	22	10	Brugge
11	4FW	Nelson Weiper	(2005-03-17) 17 March 2005 (age 20)	17	5	Mainz 05
19	4FW	Dženan Pejčinović	(2005-02-15) 15 February 2005 (age 20)	5	2	VfL Wolfsburg
20	4FW	Ilyas Ansah	(2004-11-08) 8 November 2004 (age 21)	6	1	Union Berlin

Recent call-ups

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	Leon-Oumar Wechsel	(2005-03-09) 9 March 2005 (age 20)	0	0	GKS Tychy	v.  Norway, 14 October 2025
DF	Tom Rothe	(2004-10-29) 29 October 2004 (age 21)	6	1	Union Berlin	v.  Malta, 14 November 2025
DF	Hendry Blank	(2004-08-21) 21 August 2004 (age 21)	6	0	Hannover 96	v.  Norway, 14 October 2025
DF	Elias Baum	(2005-10-26) 26 October 2005 (age 20)	4	0	Eintracht Frankfurt	v.  Norway, 14 October 2025
DF	Tim Drexler	(2005-03-06) 6 March 2005 (age 20)	1	0	1. FC Nürnberg	v.  Norway, 14 October 2025
DF	Kofi Amoako	(2005-05-06) 6 May 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Dynamo Dresden	v.  Norway, 14 October 2025
DF	Julian Pauli	(2005-07-20) 20 July 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Dynamo Dresden	v.  Greece, 10 October 2025
DF	Linus Gechter	(2004-02-27) 27 February 2004 (age 21)	3	0	Hertha BSC	v.  Greece, 10 October 2025
MF	Assan Ouédraogo	(2006-05-09) 9 May 2006 (age 19)	2	1	RB Leipzig	v.  Malta, 14 November 2025
MF	Paul Wanner	(2005-12-23) 23 December 2005 (age 19)	9	1	1. FC Heidenheim	v.  Norway, 14 October 2025
MF	Brajan Gruda	(2004-05-31) 31 May 2004 (age 21)	19	3	Brighton & Hove Albion	v.  Greece, 10 October 2025
MF	Aaron Zehnter	(2004-10-31) 31 October 2004 (age 21)	1	0	VfL Wolfsburg	v.  Latvia, 9 September 2025
MF	Umut Tohumcu	(2004-08-11) 11 August 2004 (age 21)	4	0	TSG Hoffenheim	v.  Latvia, 5 September 2025

Past squads

• 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Player records

Most caps No. of caps Player U-21 career 31 Fabian Ernst 1998–2001 30 Levin Öztunalı 2015–2019 Ansgar Knauff 2021–2025 Eric Martel 2021–2025 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 24 Lewis Holtby 2009–2013 13 21 Rouwen Hennings 2007–2009 15 Youssoufa Moukoko 2021– 18 Nick Woltemade 2023–2025 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

• 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–)

See also

• Germany national football team
• Germany national youth football team
• UEFA European Under-21 Championship