Kuntz names 26-man squad with two new faces

Germany U21 head coach Stefan Kuntz has named his squad for the upcoming friendly on 12th November (18:15 CET) against Slovenia and the EURO qualification match on 17th November (18:15 CET) against Wales. Both games will take place at the Eintracht-Stadion in Braunschweig.

In Lennart Czyborra (Genoa CFC) and Jean-Manuel Mbom (SV Werder Bremen), two players could be in line to make their debuts after being called up to the squad for the first time. Kuntz will be without Ragnar Ache (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Dennis Geiger (TSG Hoffenheim) due to injury.

“We want to secure our place in the EURO U21 Championships with our final qualifier against Wales; that is the objective for this upcoming international break,” said Stefan Kuntz. “We also have one final opportunity with the game against Slovenia to test out tactical variations and get to know new players ahead of the Group Stage in March – should we secure qualification.”

Kuntz: “We are prepared for any emergency”

On the squad announcement, Kuntz said “Some of the players are currently competing in various competitions, others have games on the upcoming Sunday or Monday and are not fully available to us for training. Therefore, with the workload of the players in mind, we have named a larger squad of 26 players. Among them are Lennart Czyborra and Jean-Manuel Mbom, who we are looking forward to getting to know.”

In addition to the existing hygiene concept, the DFB is taking special precautions for the U21 squad in view of the current coronavirus situation. "We took the positive case in the October international break as an opportunity to conduct ourselves in an even more professional manner," says Kuntz. "If we have to enter quarantine at short notice before the EURO qualifier against Wales, a complete team and training staff would be ready on call. We are prepared for the emergency case, but hopefully, that won’t be necessary.”

Top of the qualification group heading into the final game

With one game remaining in their EURO U21 qualification campaign, Germany sit top of their group with five wins and two losses (15 points) from seven games, two points ahead of second-placed Belgium. The winners of each group qualify for the finals, as well as the five best second-placed teams.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the European U21 Championship in Slovenia and Hungary is due to take place in two phases, as agreed by the UEFA Executive Committee on 17th June 2020. From 24th to 31st March 2021, the first phase will take place with 16 teams across four groups. The first and second-placed teams will qualify for the knockout round, which will take place between the 31st May and 6th June 2021 and will comprise of the quarter finals, semi-finals, and final.

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Germany U21 head coach Stefan Kuntz has named his squad for the upcoming friendly on 12th November (18:15 CET) against Slovenia and the EURO qualification match on 17th November (18:15 CET) against Wales. Both games will take place at the Eintracht-Stadion in Braunschweig.

In Lennart Czyborra (Genoa CFC) and Jean-Manuel Mbom (SV Werder Bremen), two players could be in line to make their debuts after being called up to the squad for the first time. Kuntz will be without Ragnar Ache (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Dennis Geiger (TSG Hoffenheim) due to injury.

“We want to secure our place in the EURO U21 Championships with our final qualifier against Wales; that is the objective for this upcoming international break,” said Stefan Kuntz. “We also have one final opportunity with the game against Slovenia to test out tactical variations and get to know new players ahead of the Group Stage in March – should we secure qualification.”

Kuntz: “We are prepared for any emergency”

On the squad announcement, Kuntz said “Some of the players are currently competing in various competitions, others have games on the upcoming Sunday or Monday and are not fully available to us for training. Therefore, with the workload of the players in mind, we have named a larger squad of 26 players. Among them are Lennart Czyborra and Jean-Manuel Mbom, who we are looking forward to getting to know.”

In addition to the existing hygiene concept, the DFB is taking special precautions for the U21 squad in view of the current coronavirus situation. "We took the positive case in the October international break as an opportunity to conduct ourselves in an even more professional manner," says Kuntz. "If we have to enter quarantine at short notice before the EURO qualifier against Wales, a complete team and training staff would be ready on call. We are prepared for the emergency case, but hopefully, that won’t be necessary.”

Top of the qualification group heading into the final game

With one game remaining in their EURO U21 qualification campaign, Germany sit top of their group with five wins and two losses (15 points) from seven games, two points ahead of second-placed Belgium. The winners of each group qualify for the finals, as well as the five best second-placed teams.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the European U21 Championship in Slovenia and Hungary is due to take place in two phases, as agreed by the UEFA Executive Committee on 17th June 2020. From 24th to 31st March 2021, the first phase will take place with 16 teams across four groups. The first and second-placed teams will qualify for the knockout round, which will take place between the 31st May and 6th June 2021 and will comprise of the quarter finals, semi-finals, and final.