The talented young player Paul Wanner of Dutch club PSV Eindhoven has turned his back on the German national team, deciding to represent another country in the upcoming World Cup finals scheduled for this summer.
Despite having played 9 matches for Germany at various youth levels according to data from the well-known “Transfermarkt” website, Wanner is on his way to changing his international football nationality at the senior level.
“The New Muller” Snubs Germany to Play for Another National Team
It has been reported that Wanner (20 years old), who plays as an attacking midfielder, has decided to abandon the idea of wearing the “Mannschaft” jersey and will instead represent the Austrian national team.
If this decision is confirmed, Wanner could make his debut for Austria during the upcoming international break in March.
During that period, Austria is scheduled to play two friendly matches against Ghana and, notably, against Germany on March 27th and 30th respectively. The second match is expected to generate significant interest given Wanner’s surprising departure from the German setup.
Wanner also hopes to be called up by Austria’s German coach for the World Cup, which is set to be hosted in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The World Cup draw placed Austria in Group 10 alongside reigning champions Argentina and two Arab national teams: Algeria and Jordan.
Wanner was born on December 23, 2005, in the Austrian city of Dornbirn. He earned the nickname “the new Thomas Muller” for his standout performances with his former club, Bayern Munich.
Wanner holds the record as the youngest player in Bayern Munich’s history to feature in a Bundesliga match. He made his debut on January 7, 2022, against Borussia Monchengladbach at the age of 16 years and 15 days.
Wanner transferred to PSV Eindhoven in the past summer transfer window for a fee of 15 million euros (approximately 16.2 million US dollars). Since then, he has played 18 matches for the Dutch club across all competitions, scoring 3 goals without providing an assist.
Paul Wanner
Paul Wanner is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Bayern Munich. He made history in January 2022 when, at 16 years and 15 days old, he became the youngest player ever to appear in a Bundesliga match for the club.
Austria
Austria is a Central European country with a rich cultural history, most notably as the heart of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its capital, Vienna, is renowned as a historic center of classical music, art, and intellectual thought. The country’s modern identity was shaped following World War I and its re-establishment as a sovereign republic after World War II.
World Cup
The FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament first held in 1930 in Uruguay. Organized by FIFA, it is contested every four years by the senior men’s national teams of its member associations and is the world’s most widely viewed sporting event.
Germany
Germany is a country in Central Europe with a rich and complex history, having been a collection of states for centuries before unification in 1871. It was a central power in both World Wars, and its post-World War II division into East and West Germany became a key symbol of the Cold War, before reunification in 1990. Today, it is known for its influential cultural contributions in philosophy, music, and science, and as Europe’s largest economy.
Transfermarkt
Transfermarkt is a German-based website and online database that focuses on football (soccer) player valuations, transfer news, and detailed statistics. It was founded in May 2000 by Matthias Seidel and has grown into one of the world’s most referenced sources for football market values and transfer information. The site’s data is compiled by a community of users and volunteers, with its estimated transfer values becoming highly influential in the sport’s industry.
Mannschaft
“Mannschaft” is the common nickname for the Germany national football team, which has a storied history dating back to its first official match in 1908. The team is renowned for its success, having won four FIFA World Cup titles (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) and three UEFA European Championships.
Austrian national team
The Austrian national football team, known as the “Das Team,” has represented Austria in international competition since its first official match in 1902. Historically, its greatest success came in the 1930s with a fourth-place finish at the 1934 FIFA World Cup and a silver medal at the 1936 Olympics, a period when it was famously nicknamed the “Wunderteam.”
Ghana
Ghana is a West African nation known for its rich history as the site of several pre-colonial Akan kingdoms and as the former British colony known as the Gold Coast. It gained independence in 1957, becoming the first sub-Saharan African country to do so from European colonial rule, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah. Today, it is celebrated for its stable democracy, vibrant culture, and historical sites like the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles, which are poignant reminders of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
United States
The United States is a federal republic founded in 1776 following its Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, with its current government established by the U.S. Constitution in 1789. It grew from thirteen original colonies into a global superpower, with a history significantly shaped by westward expansion, industrialization, and diverse waves of immigration.
Mexico
Mexico is a country with a rich pre-Columbian history, including advanced civilizations like the Maya and Aztec, which was later colonized by Spain in the 16th century. It gained independence in 1821 and is now known for its vibrant cultural heritage, which blends indigenous and Spanish influences, as well as for its diverse landscapes and historic sites.
Canada
Canada is a country in North America formed through the union of British and French colonial territories, becoming a self-governing dominion in 1867. It is known for its vast natural landscapes, multicultural society, and a historical development deeply shaped by Indigenous peoples, colonization, and immigration.
Argentina
Argentina is a South American nation with a rich cultural heritage shaped by indigenous traditions, Spanish colonization, and subsequent waves of European immigration. Its history includes declaring independence from Spain in 1816, periods of economic prosperity, and political turmoil, including the military dictatorship of the late 20th century. Culturally, it is globally renowned for the tango, its distinctive cuisine, and a deep passion for football.
Algeria
Algeria is a North African country with a rich history shaped by ancient Berber kingdoms, Roman rule, and centuries of Ottoman influence. It was a French colony from 1830 until achieving independence in 1962 after a prolonged war of liberation. Today, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab world, known for its diverse landscapes ranging from the Sahara Desert to a Mediterranean coastline.
Jordan
Jordan is a Middle Eastern country with a rich historical legacy, most famously home to the ancient city of Petra, a Nabatean capital carved into rose-red sandstone cliffs over 2,000 years ago. The region has been a crossroads of civilizations, later forming part of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires before becoming the modern Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1946.
Dornbirn
Dornbirn is the largest city in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, historically known as a major center for the textile industry during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its development was shaped by this industrial heritage, and today it is a commercial and educational hub while retaining historical landmarks like the Rotes Haus.
Thomas Muller
Thomas Müller is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. He has spent his entire senior career at Bayern Munich, where he has won numerous domestic and international titles, including two UEFA Champions League trophies. Known for his versatility and tactical intelligence, Müller is also a key figure in Germany’s 2014 FIFA World Cup-winning squad.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich is a professional football club based in Munich, Germany, founded in 1900. It is one of the most successful clubs in world football, having won a record number of German championships and multiple European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles.
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga is Germany’s premier professional football league, founded in 1963 to create a unified national competition. It has grown into one of the world’s most popular and commercially successful football leagues, known for its high attendances and clubs like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Borussia Monchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach is a German professional football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in 1900, the club enjoyed its greatest success in the 1970s, winning five Bundesliga titles and two UEFA Cups under legendary coach Hennes Weisweiler. It remains a historic and popular club in German football, known for its attacking style and dedicated fanbase.
PSV Eindhoven
PSV Eindhoven is a professional football club from the Netherlands, founded in 1913 by employees of the Philips electronics company. Originally a works team, it has grown into one of the country’s most successful clubs, known for winning the European Cup in 1988.
