The DFB will bid farewell to the national players who retired after the 2024 European Championship at home in the Nations League match against the Netherlands on October 14.
This was announced by national coach Julian Nagelsmann at the squad nomination on Thursday: “We will then have a few farewells from great players and great former staff members.”
The German national team’s first Nations League fixture of the 2024/25 season is in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday, October 11, followed three days later by the eagerly awaited second leg against the Netherlands in Munich on Monday evening (both kick-off 8:45 p.m.). In mid-September, the DFB team drew 2-2 in Amsterdam.
The exact setting for the farewell has not yet been announced. “It will be emotional again after the game, when we will come together as a whole group and honor the achievements of the players, but also of the staff,” said Nagelsmann.
It had been known since the beginning of May that Toni Kroos, who only returned to the national team in February, would end his career after the EURO 2024. After the European Championship on home soil, Bayern Munich players Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller also announced their retirement from the national team. The three were the last remaining active players from the 2014 World Cup winning squad.
Gündogan also drew a line under his DFB career
Another figurehead of the national team, Ilkay Gündogan, also drew a line under his international career. The 33-year-old, who returned from FC Barcelona to Manchester City in the summer, missed the 2014 World Cup triumph due to injury. Gündogan was still chosen by Hansi Flick as the DFB captain in September 2023 and also led the German national team out onto the field as captain at the home European Championship.
Germany leads Nations League Group A3 with four points thanks to a better goal difference ahead of the Netherlands, which has the same number of points. The top two nations in each group qualify for the quarter-finals.
