National coach Julian Nagelsmann and his colleagues are allowed to appoint up to 26 players to their tournament squad for the European Football Championship this year. The European Football Union UEFA said on Friday that it was increasing the maximum size of squads for the tournament from 23 to up to 26 players per country. The coaches of the 24 European Championship participants must report their tournament squads with 23 to 26 players to UEFA by June 7th.
Nagelsmann should be pleased with this decision, the national coach actually prefers a 23-man squad. “I think we can keep it open. You can name a maximum number of 26 and everyone can decide whether they want to take less,” said Nagelsmann about the recent discussion among the European Championship coaches about squad size.
The Dutch coach Ronald Koeman brought up the discussion after the 1:2 in the test against the DFB team at the end of March and spoke out in favor of a squad size of 26 instead of the 23 players previously stipulated in the tournament rules. At the 2021 European Championship, the squad was expanded to 26 players due to the corona pandemic; at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the high stress in the middle of the season was the argument for more tournament players.
Nagelsmann nominates on May 16th
As the DFB announced on Friday, Nagelsmann will name his squad for the European Championship on May 16 at the tournament final venue at a press conference in the heart of Berlin – two days before the Bundesliga final. It is eagerly awaited whether the national coach will stick to his personnel plan with many young, inexperienced players as challengers for the regular players from the March international games in France (2:0) and against the Netherlands (2:1) and instead rely on experienced players like Mats Hummels, Leon Goretzka and Robin Gosens actually waived.
Ten days after the nomination, the national soccer team’s first training camp begins in Blankenhain in Thuringia. However, it is still uncertain how many of his European Championship players Nagelsmann will have available. The 36-year-old has to do without all the players who will be in the Champions League final in London on June 1st (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League, on DAZN and on ZDF).
If FC Bayern Munich reaches the final at Wembley with a win against Real Madrid next Wednesday, Nagelsmann would have to do without several players for the time being. Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala and Thomas Müller are considered permanent EM players. Young star Aleksandar Pavlovic is given good chances. Serge Gnabry could still return if he is fit enough.
Goretzka, who was recently ignored, had recently fought verbally for a European Championship place and announced that he would fill every role in the squad that Nagelsmann had intended for him. However, he and defensive veteran Hummels, whom Nagelsmann also does not consider to be the best choice for backup tasks, are currently only given small chances at the European Championships.
First test match against Ukraine
Hummels’ only Dortmund teammate in the last DFB squad was Niclas Füllkrug, who would also start his preparations for the European Championship late if he made it to the premier class final. Only BVB opponent Paris Saint-Germain does not have a German national player. If Bayern fail, Nagelsmann will initially be missing Real stars Toni Kroos and Antonio Rüdiger in preparation, including the first test match on June 3 (8:45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for DFB international matches and on ARD) in Nuremberg against Ukraine.
The professionals from Bayer Leverkusen, most likely Florian Wirtz, Jonathan Tah and Robert Andrich, will travel to Blankenhain with just a few days delay. They will play the DFB Cup final against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on May 25th (8 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the DFB Cup, on Sky and on ARD). Nagelsmann could also initially name a larger squad and then reduce his tournament roster.
European Championship start on June 14th against Scotland
On May 31st, the DFB entourage will move from Thuringia to the EM quarters in Herzogenaurach. The preparation will continue there until the second and final test on June 7th (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for DFB international games and on RTL) in Mönchengladbach against Greece. A few hours after the game, the deadline for the final nomination of 23 or 26 players to UEFA ends at midnight.
After a day off, the DFB stars will return to their tournament accommodation in Franconia on June 9th. The opening game of the European Championship against Scotland is scheduled for June 14th (9 p.m. on ZDF and Magenta TV). The other group games will take place on June 19th (6 p.m. on ARD and Magenta TV) in Stuttgart against Hungary and on June 23rd (9 p.m. on ARD and on Magenta TV) in Frankfurt against Switzerland. The European Championship final will take place on July 14th (9 p.m. on ARD on Magenta TV) in the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
