Shortly after his decision to play for the Turkish national team, Nuremberg’s Can Uzun was called up for the first time by national team coach Vincenzo Montella. The dream of playing in the European Championships in Germany lives on for the top talent
Nathaniel Brown and Jens Castrop were delighted to be called up to the German U-21 national team by 1. FC Nürnberg on Friday. The 18-year-old Can Uzun, who was called up by national team coach Vincenzo Montella for the first time shortly after his decision against the DFB team and for Turkey, has moved up a category.
It is the next step for the Nuremberg high-flyer, who has played 22 second division games so far this season, scoring 13 goals and setting up another. In the DFB Cup, he added three goals and two assists in two games.
Uzun will now have the chance to prove himself on an even bigger stage. Turkey have two important test matches coming up on the road to the European Championship in Germany this summer: on March 22, they will face Germany’s group opponents from Hungary in Budapest, followed four days later by a clash with Ralf Rangnick’s Austrians.
Uzun wants to leave as much of a mark as possible in order to fulfill his dream of playing in his first European Championship. The Turks will face the Czech Republic and Portugal, among others, in Group F. There will also be a play-off winner
Kabak and Özcan also nominated
In addition to Nuremberg’s top talent, who will probably move to Frankfurt Eintracht in the Bundesliga together with his buddy Brown from the summer, two professionals from the German top flight have also been nominated: Hoffenheim’s Ozan Kabak and Dortmund’s Salih Özcan. The most experienced player in the squad is Hakan Calhanoglu. The professional in the service of Inter Milan brings with him the experience of 82 international matches (17 goals).
Uzun is not the only reason why there is a special focus on the 2005 squad, from which four players have been called up who are destined for a future in Turkish soccer: In addition to the FCN attacker, hopes are pinned on attacking players Arda Güler (Real Madrid), Kenan Yildiz (Juventus) and Semih Kilicsoy (Besiktas).