Overview
- Germany face Slovakia in Bratislava on Thursday at 20:45, with live coverage on ARD and a free stream on sportschau.de.
- Three first-time selections — Finn Dahmen, Nnamdi Collins and Paul Nebel — headline a refreshed squad, with Collins discussed as a potential debut and tactical shifts between three- and four-man back lines planned.
- Lothar Matthäus questioned the decision to leave goalkeeper Noah Atubolu out, as Baumann and Alexander Nübel are joined by Dahmen for this window.
- Nagelsmann’s plan points to Antonio Rüdiger and Jonathan Tah anchoring defense, Florian Wirtz leading the attack line, and Niclas Füllkrug a possible option up front, according to match previews.
- Germany’s basketball team swept the EuroBasket group 5–0 and plays Portugal in Saturday’s round of 16 in Riga, with captain Dennis Schröder urging focus despite the perfect start; the U21 footballers visit Albania on Friday in a televised friendly on ProSieben Maxx.