Women: Five Leverkusen players in Germany U23 squad
Five players in the Bayer 04 Women squad have been selected for the Germany U23s for two international fixtures. That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday afternoon.
In addition to Kristin Kögel and Katharina Piljic, who made their debuts for the new junior team in October, who have been called up by Germany coach Kathrin Peter, the two U20 World Cup participants Sofie Zdebel and Loreen Bender plus central defender Selina Ostermeier are in the squad of 23 players. That means the Werkself are providing the most players along with Bundesliga rivals Eintracht Frankfurt. Defender Julia Mickenhagen, who also made her debut for the U23 team in October, is again on standby. For the first time, the same also applies to Kögel, who was recently captain of the U23s, in terms of the senior Germany side. The midfielder is on standby for the squad under new Germany coach Christian Wück for the internationals against Switzerland and Italy.
In the 2024/25 campaign, Germany and nine other countries are involved in European fixtures for U23 international women's teams. This is open to players born on or after 1 January 2002. In addition, up to five older players can be selected, which means Kögel and Ostermeier are in contention.
After the coming weekend, featuring the matches in the DFB Pokal Round of 16, the squad will meet up in Bad Gögging on Monday, 25 November. On Thursday, 28 November (kick-off: 18.30 CET), the Germany U23 team will play the first of two friendlies against Spain in Munich followed four days later by an away game against Belgium in Tubize on Monday, 2 December (16.00 CET).
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