Germany squad announcement: Boost for Nigeria as Freiburg goalkeeper Atubolu left out

The Nigeria Football Federation have received a boost in their pursuit of SC Freiburg star Noah Atubolu.

Germany national team coach Julian Nagelsmann named his squad for the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals against four-time world champions and two-time European champions Italy on Thursday.

The big news from a Nigerian perspective is the omission of red-hot Freiburg goalkeeper Atubolu from the list of twenty-three players summoned for the double-header.

The Freiburg im Breisgau native has been in the form of his life, keeping six consecutive clean sheets in the German top-flight

Last Saturday, Atubolu became the first Freiburg goalkeeper to go 510 minutes without conceding a goal, breaking the previous record held by club legend Richard Golz set in the 2001-2002 season. 

The 22-year-old was reportedly on the radar of Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann before he announced his squad for the March internationals. 

However, Nagelsmann has left Atubolu out of his squad, instead selecting Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim), Alexander Nübel (VfB Stuttgart) and Stefan Ortega Moreno (Manchester City) as the three goalkeepers for the games against Italy.

Had Atubolu been named in the squad and made his senior debut against Italy, he would have been cap-tied to his country of birth, Germany.

The dual-national goalkeeper has represented Germany at U17, U19 and U20 level, and has played in fifteen games for the U21 squad since making his debut for the age group in a European Championship qualifier against Latvia in March 2022.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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