When the German national team starts the World Cup against Curacao on Sunday (19:00), no player from Bayer 04 will be in the DFB squad. Like in 2022 in Qatar, the current national coach Julian Nagelsmann has also waived the nomination of a Leverkusener. Nevertheless, professionals who are under contract with the Werkself will play an important role in the jersey with the eagle on the chest this summer: In shooting star Montrell Culbreath and the recently loaned U19 captain Francis Onyeka, two Bayer talents are at the U19 European Championship in Wales (June 28 to July 11) for Germany. ## Goal is the semifinals – at least The goal for the EM has been clearly formulated by the youth national coach Christian Wörns: At least the U19 of the DFB should reach the semifinals. And that has a good reason. Only the four semifinalists are automatically qualified for the U20 World Cup 2027 in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. An additional chance also get the two group runners-up, who will play for the fifth place. This entitles them to participate in a playoff game for the last ticket for the World Cup. "We are going to the EM accordingly motivated and full of anticipation for the games against strong international opponents," says Wörns. The German selection will start in Denbighshire against Denmark (June 28, 21:00). On July 1 (21:00), it will then be in Wrexham against the host team from Wales, before the final group game against Spain (July 4, 15:00) will be played again in Denbighshire. The two best teams from groups A and B will qualify for the semifinals. All games of the German U19 are live and free to watch on the YouTube channel of RTL Sport. In addition, the Cologne private broadcaster will also broadcast the games on RTL+. Both behind Onyeka and behind Culbreath lies the first season in the professional league. Onyeka has already made his first appearances under coach Xabi Alonso for the Werkself, but in Bochum he was able to show what he is capable of. In 30 league games, the offensive midfielder scored eight goals and one assist. Culbreath, who scored his first goal for Bayer in his debut in Leipzig in the first half of the season, has been a regular starter on Bayer's right flank since March. He has played a total of 16 games in the league, cup and Champions League. This rapid rise was hardly expected at the beginning of the previous season. But the now-fired coach Kasper Hjulmand gave the 18-year-old his trust and was not disappointed. Accordingly, the young player expressed himself emotionally in the social media, when Hjulmand had to leave his position. "Thank you for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to prove myself at the highest level. That I was able to make my professional debut under your leadership means a lot to me. I will never forget your trust and support," he wrote. Culbreath, who grew up near Kaiserslautern and was trained in the youth of FCK, has been playing for the DFB youth team since the U16, but has also already played three games for the U16 of the USA. His family roots lie in the current World Cup host country. Since he has not yet played an A-game, Culbreath is still eligible for both nations. ## U19-EM as a letter of recommendation M