Leon Goretzka returns to Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany squad for UEFA Nations League quarter-final against Italy
Leon Goretzka has returned to the Germany fold after being included in Julian Nagelsmann’s squad for March’s UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie against Italy.
Nagelsmann has named a squad of 23 players for the double header, with Goretzka’s recall one of the main talking points. The Bayern Munich midfielder hasn’t featured for his country since November 2023 but has fought his way back into the reckoning after an impressive return to form at club level this year.
Watch: Goretzka in resurgent form
Another midfielder who’s waited even longer for another chance at international level is Nadiem Amiri. The 28-year-old has been one of the catalysts for Mainz’s success this season as they sit third in the Bundesliga, most recently scoring in back-to-back wins over RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach. It ends a four-year hiatus from the national team, having earned the last of his five senior caps in a November 2020 friendly against Czechia under Joachim Löw.
He had previously been part of the youth teams that won the UEFA U21 Euros in 2017 and reached the final again two years later. The former came two years after he’d made his Bundesliga debut as an 18-year-old, but it was under Nagelsmann that he really made the breakthrough at Hoffenheim, playing 118 times there for the youngest permanent head coach in the league’s history.
Watch: Amiri's Afghan roots
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Borussia Dortmund winger Karim Adeyemi has also earned a recall for the first time since the 2022 FIFA World Cup after his return to fitness and form of late.
Ex-Cologne defender Yann Aurel Bisseck, now of Inter Milan, is the one completely new name in the squad and the only uncapped player alongside Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. He has retained his place alongside Alexander Nübel and Oliver Baumann despite recent good form from the likes of Robin Zentner at Mainz and Freiburg’s Noah Atubolu.
Jonathan Burkardt and Tim Kleindienst, with 14 Bundesliga goals apiece this season, will compete to lead the line in this quarter-final tie.
Watch: All of Burkardt's 2024/25 goals
The first leg takes place at Milan’s San Siro on 20 March. The return fixture in Germany is going to be played at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park three days later as the four-time world champions aim to reach the final four of the Nations League for the first time.
The winner of this quarter-final will earn the right to host the finals tournament in June, with games being played at Bayern’s Allianz Arena and VfB Stuttgart’s MHP Arena, if Germany prevail. They would face the winners of Denmark/Portugal in the semi-finals. The other tie will be between Netherlands/Spain and France/Croatia.
Germany squad to face Italy in full:
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Alexander Nübel (VfB Stuttgart), Stefan Ortega (Manchester City)
Defenders: Yann Aurel Bisseck (Inter Milan), Joshua Kimmich (captain, Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstädt (VfB Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)
Midfielders: Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund), Nadiem Amiri (Mainz), Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Pascal Groß (Borussia Dortmund), Jamie Leweling (VfB Stuttgart), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sané (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart)
Forwards: Jonathan Burkardt (Mainz), Tim Kleindienst (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Deniz Undav (VfB Stuttgart)
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