The Germany national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Germany in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and is controlled by the German Football Association (DFB), the governing body of football in Germany. Before the reunification of Germany, East Germany and West Germany played as separate entities — the two teams played separately until summer 1990. Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, international under-21 football in Europe began. A West German team, however, did not compete in the U-21 European Championship until the qualifying round (beginning in 1980) of the 1982 competition. West Germany competed in the first two under-23 competitions, which finished in 1972 and 1974. The first under-21 competition finals were in 1978, and since the under-21 competition rules state that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, technically it is an under-23 competition. The current Germany team can be legitimately considered as the current incarnation of the West German team, since the West Germany flag, uniform, and football association all became those of the unified Germany. In effect, the West German team absorbed the East German team to become 'the Germany national under-21 football team'. For these reasons, the record of West Germany for the U-23 and U-21 competitions is shown below. Competitive record For the East Germany team record, look here. 1972–1990 as 1994–present as Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place UEFA U-23 Championship record UEFA U-21 Championship record Individual awards Golden Player: Rudi Völler (1982) Silver Boot: Kevin Volland (2015) EURO Under-21 dream team On 17 June 2015, UEFA revealed an all-time best XI from the previous Under-21 final tournaments. Included players from Germany: Goal: Manuel Neuer Defence: Mats Hummels Midfield: Mesut Özil UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (Final tournament) group stage Results and fixtures Players Current squad Players born in or after 2000 are eligible for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The following players were called up for the friendly matches matches against Italy on 19 November 2022. Note: Names in italics denote players that have been called up to the senior team. Caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2022. Recent call-ups The following players have previously been called up to the Germany under-21 squad in the last 12 months and remain eligible for selection. Past squads 1996 UEFA European