Jürgen Klopp has named his first Germany squad as head coach, and the oversized roster includes several players who are eligible to represent other nations. The move has caught the attention of rival national team coaches, including Morocco's Mohamed Ouahbi, who admitted he had been tracking Eintracht Frankfurt striker Younes Ebnoutalib since last season. "He had a profile that interested us. I spoke to him on the phone and explained the Morocco project—without making any promises," Ouahbi said. If the 23-year-old sees action in the UEFA Nations League over the next couple of weeks, he will be cap-tied to Germany and ineligible for Morocco.
This is not a unique situation. A growing number of Germany players hold dual citizenship through their parents. Klopp's 44-man squad includes Vitaly Janelt (eligible for Czechia), Bambasé Conté (Guinea), Josha Vagnoman (Ivory Coast), Finn Dahmen (England), Noah Atubolu (Nigeria), Said El Mala (Lebanon), and Brajan Gruda (Albania). All were born and raised in Germany and have represented the country at youth levels.
Numerous established Germany players could have chosen another nation: Felix Nmecha (England), Kevin Schade (Nigeria), Jamal Musiala (Nigeria, England), Karim Adeyemi (Nigeria, Romania), Jonathan Tah and Serge Gnabry (Ivory Coast), Malick Thiaw (Senegal, Finland), Nathaniel Brown (USA), Nadiem Amiri (Afghanistan), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Serbia), Waldemar Anton (Russia), Yann Aurel Bisseck (Cameroon), and Ridle Baku (DR Congo).
The men's national team reflects German society: according to the Federal Statistical Office, 21.8 million of Germany's 83 million inhabitants have an immigrant background. "More than 40% of children in Germany under the age of five have a migration background. This means they will later have the option to play for one country or the other," Andreas Rettig, the German FA's outgoing managing director for sport, told DW. This forces the DFB to compete for talent, and it hasn't always been successful. Ibrahim Maza, born in Berlin to an Algerian father and Vietnamese mother, chose Algeria two years ago. Germany also missed out on Paul Wanner (Austria) and Can Uzun (Turkey).
With four matches this international break, Klopp named two squads to give every player a chance to feature. The UEFA Nations League fixtures against the Netherlands, Greece, and Serbia are all competitive, meaning Klopp could wind up cap-tying a few more players for Germany in the coming weeks.
Source: www.dw.com