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As the German national team gears up for a World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland on Monday, head coach Julian Nagelsmann has opted to leave two of his recent call-ups behind in Germany. Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu and Kevin Schade, his former Freiburg academy teammate now with Brentford, will not join the squad for the trip to Belfast. Stuttgart winger Jamie Leweling also departed the DFB camp yesterday.
Kicker has reported on the exclusions of Schade and Atubolu. Schade was called in as a replacement for Leweling, but he will miss the opportunity to earn his first cap in almost a year. Meanwhile, Atubolu’s chances of playing as the fourth-choice goalkeeper were minimal behind Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann, Stuttgart’s Alexander Nübel, and Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen.
Atubolu received a late call-up due to Baumann’s injury concerns. However, Baumann recovered in time to play the full 90 minutes during Friday night’s 4-0 victory over Luxembourg at his Bundesliga club’s stadium in Sinsheim. Schade was not included in Nagelsmann’s matchday squad.
Nagelsmann’s team departed for Belfast on Sunday, accompanied by the Germany U21 squad, who are also set to compete in a qualifying fixture for the 2027 U21 European Championship at the Belfast Oval on Tuesday. Unfortunately, Antonio Di Salvo’s DFB Juniors did not enjoy the same success as Nagelsmann’s squad, losing their qualifying match against the Greek U21s on Friday night.