Overview

• Kickoff is 20:45 CEST in Bratislava, with live coverage on ARD and a livestream on sportschau.de.
• Oliver Baumann starts in goal with Marc-André ter Stegen injured, Joshua Kimmich moves into a midfield anchor role, and Jamal Musiala remains out after his summer leg and ankle injury.
• Nnamdi Collins, Finn Dahmen and Paul Nebel receive first senior call-ups, with Collins a possible starter alongside Antonio Rüdiger and Jonathan Tah.
• Germany seek points and protection of their No. 9 FIFA ranking, as a loss in Bratislava would cost around 18 points versus roughly 7 gained for a win, affecting draw pot placement for 2026.
• Parallel to the senior opener, the U21 begin a rebuild under Antonio Di Salvo with many debutants, a Friday friendly at Albania on ProSieben MAXX, and EM‑2027 qualification starting Tuesday against Latvia in Rostock.