Klopp immediately puts a stamp with 44 players and two German squads
Jürgen Klopp on Thursday 17 September 2026 immediately put his stamp on the German national team by announcing a record squad of 44 players, split into two separate selections for the four upcoming internationals against the Netherlands, Greece, Serbia and Greece again.
Structure of the two squads
For the first two matches, against the Netherlands and Greece, Klopp has selected a core of 24 players. For the remaining two games, against Serbia and a second encounter with Greece, the group consists of 21 players. Goalkeeper Finn Dahmen appears on both lists, making him, for now, the only double‑role player.
Although Dahmen is currently the only player featuring in both squads, there is a chance that other players may also be used twice later. Klopp thereby showed that he wants to retain flexibility in the selection despite the extensive list. In the overview of Football, Tennis and Formula 1, the Programme of the selection was clearly listed.
New faces and return
New names appearing in the core for the first time include Felix Keidel of Elversberg, Finn Jeltsch of Stuttgart and Vitaly Janelt of Brentford. Also Mika Baur (Celtic), Bambasé Conté (Hoffenheim), Hennes Behrens (Augsburg) and Younis Ebnoutalib (Eintracht Frankfurt) received their first call‑up. From Freiburg, Max Rosenfelder, Philipp Treu, Derry Scherhant and Yannik Engelhardt were added.
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Returnees are Marc‑André Ter Stegen, who recently played for Ajax, Serge Gnabry of Bayern Munich and Karim Adeyemi of FC Barcelona. All three missed the World Cup due to injury, but Klopp welcomes their experience in the new group.
Notable absentees include Deniz Undav, Germany’s top scorer at the World Cup, as well as Leroy Sané and goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. Their absence raises questions about the choices of the brand‑new national coach.
Tomorrow, Mark van Bommel will announce his first squad for the Red Devils, and people wonder whether he will be inspired by Klopp to also name a large selection. The contrasts between the two new coaches could spark extra debate in the coming weeks.