From Freiburg trio to ex-Morocco youth international: Seven Germany players who could debut against Netherlands

Jürgen Klopp will be making his international football debut as his Germany side face Xavi’s Netherlands away from home on Thursday evening. Several Bundesliga stars could also make their international debuts in the clash. We take a look at the seven uncapped players from the first of Klopp’s two squads ahead of tonight’s showdown in Amsterdam.
 

Younes Ebnoutalib (23, CF, Eintracht Frankfurt)

Eintracht Frankfurt’s striker is the most likely player to make his Germany debut on Thursday. The former Morocco youth international started the Bundesliga season with a hat-trick in the 3-3 draw at Union Berlin. Ebnoutalib scored five goals and assisted two in his first ten appearances for the Eagles since his move from SV Elversberg at the start of 2026.

He scored on his Bundesliga debut against Borussia Dortmund after topping the 2. Bundesliga scoring chart in the Hinrunde, but he suffered a serious injury in his second game that kept him out for months. In his short time at the club, Adi Hütter is the third coach he’s worked with as he currently leads their attacking line with fellow international Jonathan Burkardt.

There were reports he was in contention for a World Cup call-up by Morocco, but they’re now set to miss out on him as he decided to represent Germany at international level. Ebnoutalib confirmed he also held talks with Morocco for this international break, but “couldn’t say no when Klopp calls”.
 

Bambasé Conté (23, RW/LW/AM, Hoffenheim)

Another attacking player in Klopp’s first squad for the first two games against Netherlands and Greece, Conté started the season strongly with two assists. He also came close to opening his Bundesliga account on several occasions during the weekend’s defeat to newcomers Paderborn.

The Saarbrücken-native was a teammate of Ebnoutalib at Elversberg as he spent the last two seasons away from Hoffenheim on loan deals. He last played for the Germany youth setup in 2022 in the U20 Elite League. 

However, reports suggest that Klopp has opted to leave Conté out of the squad for the game against the Netherlands, with only 23 players able to be named in the matchday squad.
 

Hennes Behrens (21, LB/LM, Augsburg)

The 21-year-old fullback has never been called up to a Germany youth national team setup. However, he made Klopp’s first squad after an impressive start for both himself and his new club Augsburg.

Although it ended in relegation, Behrens experienced regular Bundesliga minutes for the first time during the second half of last season on loan at Heidenheim. With the departures of Dimitrios Giannoulis and Mads Pedersen from Augsburg in the summer, the new signing from Hoffenheim played every minute in their first five games of the season.
 

Philipp Treu (25, RB, Freiburg)

Klopp confirmed Joshua Kimmich will play in midfield for Germany, which opens the door for the likes of Treu. The SC Freiburg defender played on both flanks during his club’s stunning season last term.

The Europa League finalists also started the new campaign on a positive note as they only dropped points in the most recent game in Frankfurt. The former RB Leipzig youth player has only played two U19 matches for Germany youth teams. Treu was blown away by his first meetings with the new Bundestrainer as he vows “to go through fire for Klopp”.
 

Max Rosenfelder (23, CB, Freiburg)

Rosenfelder is yet to win a starting berth at club level, with Matthias Ginter and Philipp Lienhart forming a strong partnership at the heart of Freiburg’s defense for years. However, Klopp decided to call the 23-year-old instead of the 2014 World Cup winner Ginter.

After making his 50th Freiburg appearance in the opening matchday win over Werder Bremen, Rosenfelder was an unused substitute in the last three Bundesliga games. The Freiburg-born defender was a member of Antonio Di Salvo’s U21 national team that reached the Euros final last year.
 

Yannik Engelhardt (25, CM, Freiburg)

Engelhardt made a quick impression on his return to the Bundesliga with his summer move to Freiburg. The 25-year-old joined the Breisgau Brazilians after Johan Manzambi’s big-money move to Aston Villa, and he already scored a brace in the 5-0 win over his former club Borussia Mönchengladbach.

In his one-year spell away from Germany, Engelhardt played under Cesc Fabregas during the club’s first season competing in Serie A. The Werder Bremen academy graduate has played a total of nine games for Germany youth national teams.
 

Finn Dahmen (28, GK, Augsburg)

The only player included in Klopp’s both squads, Dahmen made his first Bundesliga breakthrough in his “Man of the Match” performance when Borussia Dortmund squandered a league title on the final matchday against Mainz.

Since then, he has been a number one at Augsburg as he has grown with the club over the years. Dahmen made his 100th Bundesliga appearance when the Bavarians started the matchday at the top of the standings before a 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.