![6423 Lothar Matthäus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/6423_Lothar_Matth%C3%A4us.JPG)
The
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deuts ...
played its first international match on 5 April 1908 during the era of the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, losing 5–3 to
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...
. The team has been one of the most successful national sides in world
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
. They won the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
in
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
,
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
, as well as the
European Championship in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
,
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 ...
and
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
. In doing so, twenty of its players have won both titles, and six have won gold, silver and bronze medals at the World Cup.
Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German football pundit and former professional player and manager. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the ...
has played in a
record 25 World Cup matches, and his participation in five World Cup tournaments is a joint record, shared with
Antonio Carbajal
Antonio Félix "Tota" Carbajal Rodríguez (; born 7 June 1929) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was also called ''"El Cinco Copas"'', in reference to his then-record of five World Cups played.
Club care ...
of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
.
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Austrian Bundesliga club Rheindorf Altach. A striker, Klose ...
is the highest
goalscorer in the tournament's history with 16 goals, while
Gerd Müller
Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalscor ...
is third with 14.
Former team captain
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
is one of only three men to win the World Cup as a player and as a
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activitie ...
. German goalkeeper
Bodo Illgner became the first ever goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in the
final of a FIFA World Cup in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
.
Oliver Kahn
Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in t ...
won the
golden ball award at the
2002 World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...
, thus becoming the only goalkeeper in the history of the competition to be selected as the best player of the tournament.
Matthäus was the inaugural winner of the
FIFA World Player of the Year
The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representati ...
award in 1991, and is one of five Germany players to have been awarded
Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine '' France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (f ...
; two of which, Franz Beckenbauer and
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge (; born 25 September 1955) is a German football executive and former professional player. He was the longtime Chairman of Executive Board of FC Bayern München AG, a daughter company of German Bundesliga team Bayer ...
, have each won the award twice. Beckenbauer was also voted in eighth place for the
FIFA Player of the Century
FIFA Player of the Century was a one-off award created by FIFA to decide the greatest football player of the 20th century, announced at the annual FIFA World gala, held in Rome on 11 December 2000. Diego Maradona and Pelé were joint winners of ...
award, and was selected for the
World Team of the 20th Century
The World Team of the 20th Century was chosen in 1998 to comprise the best association football players of the 20th century CE. The team comprises an eleven-member side, with one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders, and three forward ...
. Ten German players were named in the
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fou ...
, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers chosen by former footballer
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...
, and ten are in the
FIFA Century Club, having earned 100 or more
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
s. Lothar Matthäus's 150 international appearances make him the ninth-most capped player in world football, and Miroslav Klose's 71 goals is the
eleventh-most of any international player.
Former
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
s of the national team may be awarded the title of honorary captain (german: Ehrenspielführer) by the
German Football Association
The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge o ...
. To date, six former players of the men's team have received this award:
Fritz Walter
Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (, ; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany an ...
(1958),
Uwe Seeler
Uwe Seeler (; 5 November 1936 – 21 July 2022) was a German footballer and football official. As a striker, he was a prolific scorer for Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the West Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of ...
(1972), Franz Beckenbauer (1982), Lothar Matthäus (2001),
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...
(2016) and
Philipp Lahm (2017).
In total, 951 players have represented the Germany national team. This list covers players with twenty or more caps for the national team organised by the German Football Association, including West Germany. The players are initially ordered by number of caps (in descending order), then by alphabetical order of surname. All statistics are correct up to and including the match played on 13 October 2020 against
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
Selection history
![Deutsche Fußball-Länderspiele Briefmarke 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Deutsche_Fu%C3%9Fball-L%C3%A4nderspiele_Briefmarke_2008.jpg)
War and the political situation of Germany in the 20th century had an impact on the country's
borders
A border is a geographical boundary.
Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film
* ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...
, as well as the make-up of the German football team. Germany played 30 internationals until the outbreak of the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, with the last match occurring on 5 April 1914 against the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. During the war, no internationals were played. In the new
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...
, the team played its first post-war match on 27 June 1920 against
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Only six players that appeared before World War I returned to the post-war side:
Otto Harder
Otto Fritz Harder (Nickname: Tull Harder; 25 November 1892 – 4 March 1956) was a footballer who played for Eintracht Braunschweig, Hamburger SV, and Victoria Hamburg. He won two German football championships and played 15 times in the Germany ...
,
Adolf Jäger,
Eduard Pendorf,
Hans Schmidt,
Josef Schümmelfelder and
Karl Wolter
Karl Wolter (2 August 1894 – 19 April 1959) was a German international footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, A ...
. After the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
came to power in January 1933, players of Jewish origin were banned from the team. Due to the
annexation of Austria
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the Nazi Germany, German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Ger ...
in 1938, the
Austrian team was absorbed into the German team, resulting in the inclusion of several Austrians in Germany's
squad
In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...
at the
1938 World Cup. With the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Germany did not cease to play internationals, but was limited to facing neutral, allied and
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...
s. The country played 35 internationals during the war, its last on 22 November 1942 against
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the team's reinstatement into
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
, the
German Football Association
The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge o ...
(DFB) was in charge of football in the
Federal Republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...
and
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
. During this period, the team was commonly referred to as West Germany. The team played its first post-war international on 22 November 1950 against Switzerland.
Only four players selected before the war were capped for the nation afterwards:
Herbert Burdenski
Herbert "Budde" Burdenski (19 May 1922 – 15 September 2001), was a German football player and coach.
Biography
Burdenski began his football career with the Erle 08 in Gelsenkirchen. In 1935 he was discovered playing in the local school champ ...
,
Andreas Kupfer
Andreas Kupfer (7 May 1914, in Schweinfurt – 30 April 2001, in Marktbreit) was a German football player.
Career
Kupfer played for VfR 07 Schweinfurt until 1933 and then joined 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 for the rest of his career.
On the na ...
,
Jakob Streitle and
Fritz Walter
Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (, ; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany an ...
. Due to the break-up of Germany, two breakaway national teams were formed:
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
(in 1950) and
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
(in 1952).
Franz Immig of Saarland was the only player in either team to have been previously capped for Germany. Saarland played their final match in 1956, after which control of the
Saar Protectorate
The Saar Protectorate (german: Saarprotektorat ; french: Protectorat de la Sarre) officially Saarland (french: Sarre) was a French protectorate separated from Germany; which was later opposed by the Soviet Union, one side occupying Germany like ...
was given to West Germany. Three of the Saar team's players later represented Germany:
Karl Ringel,
Gerhard Siedl and
Heinz Vollmar
Heinz Vollmar (26 April 1936 – 12 October 1987) was a Saarland and German football player.
Vollmar belongs to those Germany international players (war-year examples include Ernest Wilimowski, Franz Binder, Max Merkel; latest examples include ...
. Upon
Germany's reunification in 1990, the East German team was reintegrated into the German national team.
Eight players capped for East Germany later appeared for the reunified team:
Thomas Doll
Thomas Jens Uwe Doll (born 9 April 1966) is a German professional football manager and a former football player who is the current Manager of Persija Jakarta. He played as an attacking midfielder for F.C. Hansa Rostock, BFC Dynamo, Hamburger SV, ...
,
Ulf Kirsten
Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''Der Schwatte'' (dialect for ''Der Schwarze'', 'The Black One'), he is the first player in history to reach a total 100 caps play ...
,
Olaf Marschall,
Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer (; born 5 September 1967) is a German football official and former player and coach. He played as a defensive midfielder and later in his career as a sweeper.
With Borussia Dortmund as a player, Sammer won the Bundesliga and D ...
,
Heiko Scholz,
Dirk Schuster,
Andreas Thom
Andreas Thom (born 7 September 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward for BFC Dynamo, Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic and Hertha BSC. He played 51 times for East Germany throughout the 1980s and played ten times for ...
,
Dariusz Wosz
Dariusz Wosz (, ; born 8 June 1969) is a German professional football coach and former player who is a technical trainer for German club VfL Bochum. As a player, he played mostly as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield.
Early life
Wosz's family ...
.
Key
Players
See also
*
List of Germany international footballers (5–19 caps)
The Germany national football team played its first international match on 5 April 1908 during the era of the German Empire, losing 5–3 to Switzerland in Basel. The team has been one of the most successful national sides in world football. Th ...
*
List of Germany international footballers (1–4 caps)
The Germany national football team played its first international match on 5 April 1908 during the era of the German Empire, losing 5–3 to Switzerland national football team, Switzerland in Basel. The team has been one of the most successful ...
*
List of Germany international footballers born outside Germany
This is a list of the players who played for Germany national football team and who were born outside the current borders of Germany. This list includes former West Germany national football team players. It also includes players born in presently ...
*
List of East Germany international footballers
Below is a list of the 273 players who played for the East Germany national team from its foundation in 1952, until 1990 when it was merged with the West Germany team after German reunification.
List of players
See also
*List of Germany ...
*
List of Saarland international footballers
The Saarland national football team represented the Saar Protectorate in international Association football, football, and played 19 matches between 1950 and 1956. In total, 42 players appeared for the national team. With the exception of Kurt Clem ...
References
General references
*
*
*
*
External links
Player listfrom DFB
All-time appearancesat WorldFootball.net
Germany national team capsat EU-Football.info
{{Featured list
Association football player non-biographical articles