National coach Julian Nagelsmann’s provisional squad for the European Football Championship continues to take shape. After further names were announced on Tuesday (May 14th, 2024), the next personnel, Robert Andrich, was announced today.
The German champions were informed about the tournament confirmation by teammate Toni Kroos on Wednesday morning. In the latest edition of the podcast “Einfach mal luppen” the Kroos brothers Toni and Felix announced that the defensive midfielder will be playing for the national soccer team at a major tournament for the first time this summer.
Since Sunday evening, numerous names of the provisional European Championship squad have been made public. In addition to Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen) and Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), there are also Aleksandar Pavlovic, Manuel Neuer, Leroy Sané (all Bayern Munich), Niclas Füllkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Maximilian Mittelstädt, Chris Führich (both VfB Stuttgart), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Kai Havertz (FC Arsenal).
Eleven players nominated so far
Manuel Neuer (goal) Nico Schlotterbeck (defense) Jonathan Tah (defense) Robin Koch (defense) Aleksandar Pavlovic (midfield) Robert Andrich (midfield) Maximilian Mittelstädt (midfield) Chris Führich (midfield) Niclas Füllkrug (attack) Leroy Sané (attack) Kai Havertz (attack)
The appointment of Maximilian Mittelstäd from Stuttgart was announced on Tuesday by singer Peter Schilling on Instagram. His hit “Major Tom” delighted German football fans last March in the friendly victories in France (2-0) and against the Netherlands (2-1). The song was played as a goal anthem when Mittelstädt scored his debut goal in the second game in Frankfurt.
Sané nomination in the museum
Leroy Sané was previously not known as a great lover of modern or contemporary art. In the portrait, which was presented by Frankfurt’s Kunsthalle Schirn on Tuesday as a sign of his European Championship nomination, the fast striker from FC Bayern Munich makes a satisfied and, above all, determined impression. He was added to the provisional European Championship squad as the tenth player in the DFB’s nomination campaign.
Despite the red card suspension, which only expires in the last test match before the start of the European Championship, and a currently afflicting pubic bone infection, Sané will be at the home tournament.
Füllkrug unsurprisingly nominated
The nomination of striker Niclas Füllkrug came as no surprise on Tuesday morning (May 14, 2024). The Borussia Dortmund player, who currently has twelve goals to his name in the Bundesliga, has recently scored quite regularly in the national jersey and was considered a seed before his nomination.
Sportschau, May 14, 2024 8:32 a.m
Chris Führich can also be happy about a nomination – for a Swabian baker.
Führich made his debut for the DFB team on the national team’s trip to the USA in October 2023. He then missed the November games due to illness. In March he was part of the Nagelsmann team again in the tests in France (2:0) and against the Netherlands (2:1). With the European Championship ticket, Führich is also rewarded for his excellent performances at VfB Stuttgart this season.
Koch could still be deleted
Robin Koch is nominated as the fourth central defender, but could end up being the fifth wheel on the car. The appointment of the eight-time national player from Eintracht Frankfurt was announced on the YouTube show “World Wide Living Room”. Koch (27) is on loan from Leeds United to Eintracht until the end of the season, after which he has a contract in Frankfurt until 2027. Since Antonio Rüdiger is in central defense and the appointment of Waldemar Anton is expected, Koch or he could Stuttgart’s Anton von Nagelsmann will be canceled before the start of the tournament.
Havertz as a striker
Kai Havertz is fighting for the English championship title with Arsenal FC, he is playing a very strong Premier League season – so his nomination for the home European Championship was the opposite of a surprise: it was a formality. The football influencers from Calcio Berlin were allowed to announce them. Havertz’s place in the European Championship starting eleven seems to have been found after trials and tribulations. Nagelsmann initially tried him out as a rail player on the left without success, but then he put him back up front, where the 24-year-old will probably initially be given preference over the “real” striker Niclas Füllkrug. Havertz also plays at the forefront at Arsenal.
Next major tournament for Neuer
The nomination of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was also announced on Monday evening. For Neuer, it is the eighth major tournament after the 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Championships as well as the 2012, 2016 and 2021 European Championships.
Pavlovic is new
Pavlovic has two appearances for the German U20. The defensive midfielder has not yet appeared for the senior national team. The 20-year-old is playing his first season at FC Bayern and has appeared 18 times in the Bundesliga and three times in the Champions League. Pavlovic decided to join the German national team just a few months ago. He would also have been eligible to play for Serbia.
Pavlovic was considered by Nagelsmann for the first time for the March international matches against France (2:0) and the Netherlands (2:1), but was unable to travel due to illness and is therefore still waiting for his debut. He could now celebrate that in the European Championship tests on June 3rd in Nuremberg against Ukraine or four days later in Mönchengladbach against Greece.
Tah’s nomination is no surprise
Jonathan Tah’s nomination was also expected. The 28-year-old is having an outstanding season at Bayer Leverkusen and was named by Nagelsmann as a regular in central defense alongside Antonio Rüdiger in the successful European Championship tests in March in France (2-0) and against the Netherlands (2-1).
DFB wants to announce further names before the provisional European Championship squad is announced
Nagelsmann will announce his provisional squad on Thursday (1 p.m.) in Berlin. However, the DFB will announce further names in advance via various media (Tagesschau, RTL, 1LIVE) and influencers (roofer Chiara, geriatric nurse Rashid Hamid).
On the one hand, this is intended to increase the fans’ anticipation and, on the other hand, to prevent the names of the European Championship participants from being leaked to the media.
Some positions in the European Championship squad are still unclear. Bayern striker Serge Gnabry, for example, suffered a torn muscle bundle in his thigh during the Champions League exit at Real Madrid. He will probably be out of action.
ARD broadcasts numerous games
The European Championships will take place in Germany from June 14th to July 14th. The games will be played in ten cities: Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart. ARD and ZDF will each broadcast 17 of the 51 games live. A further 17 games will be broadcast by RTL. All games can also be followed live in the audio stream and ticker on sportschau.de.
In the opening game, Germany meets Scotland. Other group opponents are Hungary and Switzerland. At the last European Championship, Germany was eliminated by England in the round of 16.
