With a 7-0 win in the UEFA Nations League home game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, the German national team secured early victory in preliminary round group A3. At the game in Freiburg, Maximilian Mittelstädt was in the starting line-up for the German team and was in action until the 58th minute. Alexander Nübel and Chris Führich are also part of national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s squad in the current international match phase, but were not used on Saturday evening. VfB striker Ermedin Demirovic was in action for the first 84 minutes for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Originally, national coach Julian Nagelsmann had also nominated Deniz Undav and Angelo Stiller for the German national team. However, Deniz Undav had to withdraw due to his thigh injury, while Angelo Stiller, in consultation with the association, decided that he would leave the national team early due to his muscular problems. Both VfB players will therefore not be used in the current international match phase. This also applies to Enzo Millot (knee problems), who left the French U21 team in coordination with the French association.
El Bilal and Mali achieve early qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
VfB striker El Bilal celebrated a significant success as he helped Mali qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup. In the important game between first (Mali) and second (Mozambique) in qualifying group I, El Bilal was on the field from the start. Kamory Doumbia from Stade Brest made it 1-0 after just 19 minutes – it was the only goal of the day. El Bilal was committed in the center of the attack until he was substituted in the 79th minute. At the end of the nine-minute stoppage time, he was able to celebrate with his teammates. Because of the away win on the African east coast, early qualification for the Africa Cup was perfect. The tournament will be held in Morocco from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026.
Nick Woltemade provides an assist for the German U21 team
Nick Woltemade and Frans Krätzig also had a successful start to this international phase. With the German U21s they defeated Denmark 3-0 in a friendly in Aachen. Nick Woltemade came on as a substitute at half-time and shortly after the restart provided the assist to make it 2-0 through Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown. Frans Krätzig also received playing time and came on as a substitute in the 75th minute.
Ameen Al-Dakhil makes a comeback to the national team
Ameen Al-Dakhil and Belgium had already started the VfB players’ international appearances on Thursday evening. In the UEFA Nations League game against Italy, the central defender celebrated his comeback with the Red Devils after an absence of almost a year. Ameen Al-Dakhil came on as a substitute in the 71st minute when the score was 1-0 for Squadra Azzurra, which was later the final score. After this defeat, Belgium no longer has a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League.
In the last home game of the year, Fabian Rieder and Switzerland drew 1-1 against Serbia. The VfB player was used from the start and was substituted after 66 minutes. Switzerland remains bottom of the table in Group A4.
