Germany International Footballers

Germany International Footballers

Since the Germany national football team's first official match in 1908, it has been one of the most successful national teams in world football, having participated in seventeen World Cups and ten European Championships and won three of each. In doing so, twenty of its players have won both titles, and five have won gold, silver and bronze medals at the World Cup. Lothar Matthäus has played in a record 25 World Cup matches, and his participation in five World Cup tournaments is a joint record, shared with Antonio Carbajal of Mexico. Miroslav Klose and Gerd Müller are the joint second-highest goalscorers in the tournament's history with 14 goals each, and Franz Beckenbauer is one of only two men to win the World Cup as a player and as a coach.

Matthäus was the inaugural winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1991, and is one of five Germany players to have been awarded European Footballer of the Year; two of which, Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, have each won the award twice. Beckenbauer was also voted in eighth place for the FIFA Player of the Century award, and was selected for the World Team of the 20th Century. Ten German players were named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers chosen by former footballer Pelé, and seven are in the FIFA Century Club, having earned 100 or more caps. Lothar Matthäus's 150 international appearances make him the ninth-most capped player in world football, and Gerd Müller's 68 goals (in 62 games) is the eighth-most of any international player.

Former captains of the national team may be awarded the title of Ehrenspielführer (honorary captain), by the German Football Association. To date, four former players of the men's team have received this award: Fritz Walter (1958), Uwe Seeler (1972), Franz Beckenbauer (1982) and Lothar Matthäus (2001).

Germany's borders underwent many changes during the 20th century, which had an effect on the make-up of the German football team. After the annexation of Austria, the Austrian team was absorbed into the German team, resulting in the inclusion of several Austrians in Germany's 1938 World Cup squad. After World War II and the break-up of Germany, two breakaway national teams were formed: Saarland (1950–1956) and East Germany (1952–1990). During this period, the team was commonly known as West Germany until the country's reunification in 1990, when the East German team was reintegrated into the German national team.

This list only covers the (West) Germany national team—the team of the DFB (German Football Association). It includes all players with 20 or more appearances, or 10 or more goals, for the German team, and all capped players who were in the squad for a World Cup or European Championship finals.