The German U19 national team starts into the European Championship qualification. In addition to a talent from Borussia Dortmund, two Schalke defenders are also nominated.
In the A-Junioren-Bundesliga West, Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04 face a three-week break. Three talents from the Revierklubs will be away with the German U19 national team during this time.
Coach Christian Wörns has nominated BVB’s Rafael Lubach and Schalke’s Vitalie Becker and Niklas Barthel for the upcoming matches in the qualifiers for next year’s European Championship.
Midfielder Lubach has already played in two international matches for the U19 team. The 18-year-old has not yet missed a minute this season for Dortmund, which is at the top of the Bundesliga West table without dropping a point.
At Schalke, the two defenders Becker and Barthel are also set. Becker has already made two appearances for the German U19s, while Barthel could make his debut for the Wörns team at the upcoming training course. In addition, their S04 teammates Max Grüger and Luca Podlech as well as Dortmund’s Leonardo Garcia Posadas are on call.
Coach and ex-BVB pro Wörns and his 20-man squad will face Kazakhstan (October 11, 3 p.m.), North Macedonia (October 14, 3:30 p.m.) and Poland (October 17, 3:30 p.m.). All three matches will be played in Poland.
To advance to the second qualifying round, Germany must finish in one of the top two places in the group of four or finish as the best third in all groups. The European Championship will be held in Northern Ireland next summer (July 15-28).
“We now have 18 months of scouting behind us, in which we have certainly scouted around 60 to 80 players in various training courses with international matches, re-screenings and also in countless games on the ground,” Wörns was quoted as saying in a statement from the German Football Association (DFB). “Of course, one or the other player is missing due to injury, but that is in the nature of things. Nevertheless, we are sure that we have put together a good squad that we trust 100 percent. “