The Germany national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Germany in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship and is controlled by the German Football Association (DFB), the governing body of football in Germany.
Before the reunification of Germany, East Germany and West Germany played as separate entities — the two teams played separately until summer 1990. Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, international under-21 football in Europe began. A West German team, however, did not compete in the U-21 European Championship until the qualifying round (beginning in 1980) of the 1982 competition.
West Germany competed in the first two under-23 competitions, which finished in 1972 and 1974. The first under-21 competition finals were in 1978, and since the under-21 competition rules state that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, technically it is an under-23 competition.
The current Germany team can be legitimately considered as the current incarnation of the West German team, since the West Germany flag, uniform, and football association all became those of the unified Germany. In effect, the West German team absorbed the East German team to become 'the Germany national under-21 football team'.
For these reasons, the record of West Germany for the U-23 and U-21 competitions is shown below.
Contents
Competitive record
For the East Germany team record, look here.
1972–1990 as West Germany
1994–present as Germany
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Individual awards
Golden Player: Rudi Völler (1982)
Golden Boot: Luca Waldschmidt (2019), Lukas Nmecha (2021), Nick Woltemade (2025)
Silver Boot: Kevin Volland (2015)
Bronze Boot: Marco Richter (2019)
EURO Under-21 dream team
On 17 June 2015, UEFA revealed an all-time best XI from the previous Under-21 final tournaments.
Included players from Germany:
Goal: Manuel Neuer
Defence: Mats Hummels
Midfield: Mesut Özil
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
Results and fixtures
Win
Draw
Loss
Players
Current squad
Players born in or after 2004 are eligible for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
The following players were called up for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying matches against Northern Ireland and Greece on 27 and 31 March 2026.
Note: Names in italics denote players that have been called up to the senior team.
Caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2026, after the match against Greece.
Recent call-ups
The following players have previously been called up to the Germany under-21 squad in the last 12 months and remain eligible for selection.
Past squads
1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Former coaches
Hannes Löhr (1990–2002)
Jürgen Kohler (2002–2003)
Uli Stielike (2003–2004)
Dieter Eilts (2004–2008)
Horst Hrubesch (2008–2009)
Rainer Adrion (2009–2013)
Horst Hrubesch (2013–2016)
Stefan Kuntz (2016–2021)
Antonio Di Salvo (2021–)