When the German U19 national team competes for a spot in the European Under-19 Championship at the end of March, two players from Bochum and one from Schalke will be there.
At the end of March, the German U19 national team will face Sweden, Greece, and Austria in a mini-tournament. At stake is nothing less than a spot in next summer’s European Under-19 Championship.
Head coach Christian Wörns has announced his roster. And he is counting on three players from the Ruhr region. Defender Kacper Koscierski and midfielder Francis Onyeka from VfL Bochum will be part of the squad. FC Schalke 04 is also sending midfielder Mika Wallentowitz to the German U19 team.
In less than a week, three matches are on the schedule:
March 25: Germany U19 – Sweden U19
March 28: Germany U19 – Greece U19
March 31: Germany U19 – Austria U19
All matches will be played in Dreieich, Hesse.
“The crucial phase is beginning,” said Wörns. “With Sweden, Greece, and Austria, we face three strong opponents who will demand everything from us. All three nations have proven in recent years that they do an excellent job of developing youth players, and these players have the potential to make the leap to higher-level leagues, including the Bundesliga.”
He continued: “We’re definitely looking forward to the three matches, especially given that we’re on ‘home turf’ and have ideal conditions both at the DFB Campus and in Dreieich to prepare ourselves optimally and put on a great show of soccer in front of a home crowd.”
Onyeka has caused the biggest stir so far. The 18-year-old is indispensable at VfL Bochum, as he has proven with eight goals and one assist in 23 second-division matches. Koscierski and Wallentowitz are not currently part of the starting lineup.
On standby are Tim Degener, Taycan Etcibasi, Jonas Feddersen, Aaron Held (all Borussia Dortmund), Owono Darnell-Keumo, and Luis Raphael Pick (both VfL Bochum).-
Overview of the DFB U19 squad
Goalkeeper: Florian Hellstern (VfB Stuttgart), Enis Vauclain Kamga (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Tom Heinz Wisbereit (1. FC Union Berlin)
Field players: Mirza Catovic (VfB Stuttgart), Montrell Culbreath (Bayer Leverkusen), Luis Engelns (TSG Hoffenheim), Luca Erlein (TSG Hoffenheim), Jykese Fields (TSG Hoffenheim), Kacper Koscierski (VfL Bochum), Adin Licina (Juventus Turin), Boris Lum (Hertha BSC), Till Neininger (VfL Wolfsburg), Ben Nink (SV Wehen Wiesbaden), Francis Onyeka (VfL Bochum), Rafael Pinto Pedrosa (Karlsruher SC), Juan Tiago Esteban Poller (TSG Hoffenheim), Mick Schmetgens (SV Werder Bremen), Otto Stange (Hamburger SV), Niklas Swider (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Yannik Wagner (1. FC Heidenheim), Mika Wallentowitz (FC Schalke 04)