Latvia U21 vs. Germany U21 preview: Team news and predicted lineups
· Yahoo Sports
Germany U21 will look to take another step towards securing top spot in Group F when they travel to face Latvia U21 on Saturday.
Antonio Di Salvo’s side currently sit at the summit of the qualifying group with 18 points from seven matches, having recorded six victories and suffered just one defeat. That sole loss came in a 3-2 home defeat to Greece in October 2025, while Germany subsequently gained some revenge by beating Greece 2-0 away in March.
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The Germans therefore head into the final three matches of qualifying level on points with Greece but ahead of their rivals at the top of the group. Northern Ireland are a further eight points behind in third, meaning Germany have a strong position heading into the decisive run-in.
The top spot is particularly important, with the nine group winners and the best runner-up qualifying directly for the 2027 European Under-21 Championship in Albania and Serbia.
Germany’s opening assignment of the September international break sees them head to Riga, where they will meet a Latvia side they comfortably defeated in the reverse fixture.
Latvia U21
Latvia have endured a difficult qualifying campaign and currently sit fifth in Group F, with the Baltic nation having collected points against Malta and Georgia but suffered several defeats during the campaign.
Their most recent qualifying fixture saw them beaten 3-1 at home by Northern Ireland in March. Latvia actually took the lead through Kristians Mežsargs before goals from Makenzie Kirk, Eoin Kenny and Devlan Moses turned the match around for the visitors.
Goalkeeper Ņikita Parfjonovs has been one of Latvia’s most regular starters during the campaign, while defenders Milāns Tihonovičs and Maksims Semeško have also featured heavily. Midfielder Ivans Patrikejevs has started all seven of Latvia’s matches listed by UEFA.
Predicted Latvia U21 XI: Parfjonovs; Semeško, Kangar, Tihonovičs, Mihalcovs; Patrikejevs, Žaleiko; Strods, Mežsargs, Cēsnieks; Lizunovs.
Germany U21
Germany arrive in Riga with a considerably changed squad after several established U21 players were promoted to the senior national team.
Finn Jeltsch, Brajan Gruda and Said El Mala have all been called up by new Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp, while injuries to Dennis Seimen, Nnamdi Collins and Nelson Weiper have further reduced Di Salvo’s options.
The changes have opened the door for seven players to receive their first U21 call-ups. Noahkai Banks, Frank Feller, Laurin Ulrich, Francis Onyeka, Wael Mohya, Louey Ben Farhat and Paris Brunner are all included in the latest squad.
Brunner will attract particular attention after earning his first U21 selection following an impressive start to the campaign with AS Monaco. The forward has scored six goals across his opening seven matches for the Ligue 1 side this season and will now make the step up to Di Salvo’s squad.
Despite the changes, Germany still possess considerable attacking options, with Nicolò Tresoldi and Dženan Pejčinović also available alongside Brunner. Tom Bischof, Arijon Ibrahimović and Aljoscha Kemlein provide further creativity and midfield quality.
Di Salvo has made no secret of Germany’s objective during the final international break of qualifying.
“Our aim and expectation is to win all three games.”
The Germany U21 boss also acknowledged the impact of the senior-team promotions, but said he was pleased to see his former players given the opportunity to prove themselves at the highest level.
Predicted Germany U21 XI: Backhaus; Baum, Quarshie, Gechter, Ullrich; Bischof, Kemlein; Ibrahimović, Darvich, Brunner; Tresoldi.
Previous meeting
Germany produced a convincing performance when the two sides met in Rostock in September 2025, cruising to a 5-0 victory.
The result underlined the gulf between the two teams and Germany will be looking for another three points when the sides meet again in Riga.
However, Saturday’s encounter comes with considerably more at stake for the visitors, with Germany looking to maintain their position at the top of Group F before travelling to Malta four days later.
When is Latvia U21 vs. Germany U21?
The match takes place on Saturday, September 26, with kick-off scheduled for 18:00 CEST at the Daugava Stadium in Riga.
Germany will then travel to Malta on September 30 before concluding their qualifying campaign against Georgia in Bielefeld on October 6.