Sports Weekly all-media reporter Huang Sijun
Wolfsburg were the protagonists of the bundesliga's final moments of the winter window, sending away top scorer Weehost and former captain Giravoghi, buying back Kreuzer and bringing in Danish centre-forward Jonas Winder. After closing the window, Wolfsburg completed another "transfer" - the 21-year-old Felix Nmesha officially transferred from England to the German national account on Wednesday, and the German Football Association officially announced the news. If nothing else, in the international break in March, Nmeisha Jr. will be selected for the German U21 team for the first time.
Felix Nmeisha, who represented germany's U18 team in 2018, decided to re-enter the German Football Federation.
The German Fawn thanks the FA
Three years ago, Lucas Nmeisha switched from England U21 to Germany U21 and immediately competed in the 2019 U21 European Youth Championship, finishing runners-up with the team as a substitute. By the 2019-21st German U21 team, Lucas Nmeisha became the absolute main force in the center position, eventually leading the team to win the 2021 U21 European Youth Championship, and became the top scorer of the tournament with four goals, including a one-shot victory in the final 1-0 win over Portugal. Last November, the German footballer "Centre-Forward Hope" was selected for the German national team for the first time and came off the bench in two World Cup qualifiers against the arrays of Chidenstein and Armenia.
Today, Lucas's younger brother Felix has chosen the same path. In fact, when Felix followed his brother from Manchester City to Wolfsburg last summer, it was expected that he would also switch to the German Football Association. Last October, Kicker magazine reported that Nmeisha Jr. was considering the matter, "I may play for Germany again." I have contact with the German Football Federation, but I have not talked about it for the time being. ”
Lucas Nmeisha helped England U19 and Germany U21 become European champions, scoring the winning goal in both finals against Portugal.
Unlike Lucas, who had been playing for England youth teams before switching to Germany's U21 team, Felix first played two games for England Under 16 in 2015 and then switched to Germany's Under18 coached by Stryxbier in 2018, playing a total of three friendly matches, the last of which was a 3-1 win over Russian U18 on May 8. However, later that month, he became an England U18 international, participated in the Panda Cup in Chengdu, and also played against the Chinese U18 team with Guo Tianyu, Zhu Chenjie, Jiang Shenglong and others.
The main reason for this swing is that his position in the England national youth team is not solid. Lucas was named to england's U16 to U21 national youth teams in each class, making as many as 31 appearances, scoring eight goals and winning the 2017 UEFA Europa League under the U19 – he scored the winning goal in the 68th minute of the final against Portugal 2-1. Felix, on the other hand, has only been selected for England U16, U18 and U19, making only 9 appearances (2 goals) in total, and has not been called up by U20 or U21. The last time he appeared for the "Little Three Lions" was nearly 3 years ago. It can be said that for England, which is now full of talents, they may not care whether the little Nmeisha "defected" or not.
In late May 2018, Felix Nmeisha represented England's U18 team in the Panda Cup and also played against China's U18 team.
In fact, the FA even helped the German Football Association in the matter of Nmeisha Jr.'s transfer to the FA. The German Football Association's youth football and youth director Hazia Lexius, who is responsible for handling the matter, gave a special tribute to the FA after the incident, "This matter is not taken for granted, it is a good signal of fair competition between the two football associations." Such "friendly cooperation", in other words, between the German and Turkish Football Associations, is simply a fantasy.
The next pair of brothers in the German team?
Another objective fact is that unlike his brother's main manager, Nmeisha Jr. played in the No. 8 or No. 10 position, which is not a lack of places in German football. It also means that Felix's career as a German national may not be as smooth as his brother's. At least in this German U21 team, he will face fierce competition for the position, with the likes of Malik Tillman (Bayern Munich), Jan Tillmann (Cologne), Appelkamp (Bundesliga Düsseldorf), Finn Orer Becker (Bundesliga Saint Pauli, free transfer to Hoffenheim next season), Tom Klaus (Bundes. B. Nuremberg) and Batsner (B.A. Ostend). Including in the winger or full-back position, there are also opponents such as Burcat (Mainz 05), Shad (Freiburg), Leiveling (Fürth), Massimo (Stuttgart) and other opponents who are currently developing well in the Bundesliga.
The Nmesha brothers are all from The Manchester City Academy.
In any case, for German football, the more high-level talent is naturally better, and Hazia Lexius hopes that the younger Nmeisha can follow a similar path to success as his brother. However, Germany U21 coach Di Salvo stressed: "Now after the formalities are completed, he will have to recommend himself to the U21 team through good performance. ”
3 centimeters taller than his brother – the little Nmeisha, who reached 1.88 meters, was not only physically fit, but also had quite delicate foot skills and was quite confident when holding the ball. He currently plays a major substitute role at Wolfsburg, making 10 appearances in the Bundesliga so far this season, with only one start, plus two off-the-beaten-line appearances in the Champions League group stage, with a total of only 237 minutes of appearances, with neither goals nor assists. But considering that this is only his first full professional season (he has only played 3 games for Manchester City's first team before, and has not been loaned to other professional teams like his brother), and the chaotic competitive situation at Wolfsburg in recent months (since last November's international break, there have been 11 consecutive official games without a win), this situation is already good. As long as there are no injuries or other unexpected conditions, he should be selected for the German Under-21 team for the first time in March.
Now that the Nmesha brothers are working for Wolfsburg again, the older brother has won the main position, and the younger brother still needs to work hard.
The Nmesha brothers were born in Hamburg to a Nigerian father and a German mother. At a very young age, they moved to the UK with their parents and joined the Manchester City Academy together. Since Nmeisha Jr. has reached the age of 21, according to the current FIFA regulations, once he plays in the U21 European Preliminary Round against Latvia (25th) or Israel (29th) in March, he will completely lock in the national team's choice and no longer have the possibility of returning to England or switching to Nigeria in the future. Due to the difference of 2 years, the Nmesha brothers have not yet fought side by side at the national level. Can they become another pair of brothers in the German national team after the twins Lars and Sven Bend? Let's wait and see.