Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
Stefan Kuntz has named his 23-man squad for the upcoming group stages of the UEFA European U-21 Championship in Hungary and Slovenia. Four debutants have been included in the squad: Malick Thiaw (FC Schalke 04), Mateo Klimowicz (VfB Stuttgart), Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund) and Anton Stach (SpVgg Greuther Fürth)
Germany kick-off their campaign in Group A on March 24 (21:00 CET) against hosts Hungary in Székesfehérvár, before facing Netherlands in the same location on March 27 (21:00 CET). The group stage comes to a close against Romania in Budapest on March 30 (21:00 CEST)
“We have been working in this team towards the European Championship for the last year and a half and we’re excited that it’s finally getting started,” said Stefan Kuntz. “Our clear aim is to qualify for the knockout stages in summer, even though we know this will be a great challenge.”
On the squad’s new faces, Kuntz: “Since we have no preparation, the boys need to be match ready from the off. In that sense, we have opted for two players in Malick Thiaw and Mateo Klimowicz who have featured regularly in the Bundesliga of late. Anton Stach has been preforming extremely well in the 2. Bundesliga and is a very versatile player.”
On Youssoufa Moukoko, who could become the youngest U-21 Euro player if he features, Kuntz said, “In Youssoufa, we have an extraordinary talent in Germany, who we want to nurture with caution and accordingly to his performance. After close discussions with Borussia Dortmund, we decided to call up him up, because we think his participation will help both the team and his own development.”
Due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, the UEFA executive committee decided to split the U21 Euro into two phases. As such, 16 teams will contest the group stages between 24th-31st March 2021. The first and second place teams will then qualify for the knockout stages that will take place between May 31-June 6, 2021. This will be the 13th participation for Germany, who won the tournament in 2009 and 2017.
GERMANY U-21
Goalkeepers
Finn Dahmen (1.FSV Mainz 05), Lennart Grill (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Markus Schubert (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Defenders
Ridle Baku (VfL Wolfsburg), Josha Vagnoman (Hamburger SV), David Raum (SpVgg Greuther Fürth), Amos Pieper (Arminia Bielefeld), Stephan Kofi Ambrosius (Hamburger SV), Maxim Leitsch (VfL Bochum), Nco Schlotterbeck (1.FC Union Berlin), Malick Thiaw (FC Schalke 04), Ismail Jakobs (1.FC Köln)
Midfielders/Forwards
Salih Öczan (1.FC Köln), Niklas Dorsch (KAA Gent), Arne Maier (Arminia Bielefeld), Vitaly Janelt (Brentford FC), Mateo Klimowicz (VfB Stuttgart), Anton Stach (SpVgg Greuther Fürth), Mergim Berisha (RB Salzburg), Lukas Nmecha (RSC Anderlecht), Florian Krüger (FC Erggebirge Aue), Jonathan Burkardt (1.FSV Mainz), Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund)
