27-year-old striker Deniz Undav has received a call-up to the German national team and will play at the UEFA European Football Championship 2024 in Germany.
Bundestim head coach Julian Nagelsmann has called up many debutants and new faces for the home UEFA EURO 2024, including Yazidi-born footballer Deniz Undav.
Deniz Undav is a striker for Stuttagert, he had an outstanding season and helped the club to second place in the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern Munich. In the 2023/24 season, Deniz Undav scored 18 goals and made 10 assist.Undav has previously played for Brighton (England), Union Saint-Gillois (Belgium) and in the lower leagues in Germany. Until the age of 23 he was still playing in the Third Bundesliga, but a move to Belgian Union Saint-Gillois changed his career, in the 2021/22 season Undav scored 25 goals and made 10 assists in the Belgian league.
Yezidzidi footballer Deniz Undav made his debut for Germany on 23 March in a friendly against France, his only match for the Bundestim, but now he has a chance to play at UEFA EURO 2024.
Deniz Undav was born in Germany in 1996 to Yezidi parents who were forced to leave Turkey in 1980 due to persecution. Undav's family hails from the province of Şanlıurfa in south-eastern Turkey.
‘The number of Yezidis in Turkey is currently less than 1,000. We are present in 8-9 villages in Batman, Mardin, Diyarbakir and Şanlıurfa. Yezidis still bury their dead in their native land. Despite being in Europe, our relationship with these lands continues. For this reason, Deniz Undav is also committed to his land. He has been involved in football from a young age. He was nicknamed Maradona,’ said Deniz's cousin Azad Barış (MP in Turkey).
Germany's squad for UEFA EURO 2024:
Forwards: Maximilian Bayer (Hoffenheim), Niklas Füllkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Thomas Muller (Bayern), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart).
Midfielders: Robert Andric (Bayer), Chris Furich (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Brighton), Ilkay Gendogan (Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern), Leroy Sane (Bayern), Florian Wirz (Bayer).
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Stuttgart), Benjamin Henrichs (Leipzig), Josua Kimmich (Bayern), Robin Koch (Eintracht), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), David Raum (Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer 04).
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona).