Germans report:

Super youngster Paul Wanner says yes to Austria

Here he is still wearing the Germany jersey, but reportedly not anymore in the future – Paul Wanner(Bild: GEPA)

There has been a long battle for him, and he himself has wrestled with the decision for a long time, but now it seems that the die is cast, the cheese is eaten, and the die is cast: Super youngster Paul Wanner is said to have decided against a career in Germany's national team and in favor of Austria's national team!

At least that's what Munich's "tz" newspaper claims to have learned ahead of the Champions League match between Wanner's current club PSV Eindhoven and his former home club Bayern Munich. "I dream of playing in a World Cup – but until then, I want and need to perform well week after week," the 20-year-old is quoted as saying.

Paul Wanner (left) in the PSV Eindhoven jersey(Bild: APA/AFP)

Trained in the FC Bayern youth academy
Wanner, who was born in Dornbirn to a German father and Austrian mother, was trained in the FC Bayern youth academy. In recent seasons, he was loaned to SV Elversberg (2023/24) and 1. FC Heidenheim (2024/25) before moving permanently to PSV Eindhoven last summer. Wanner signed a five-year contract with the Dutch soccer champions and will wear the prestigious number 10 jersey.

Invitation from DFB team manager declined
At national team level, Wanner has only played for Germany so far. After appearances for the U17, U18 and U20 teams, he was also part of the German team that lost to England in the final of the U21 European Championship last summer. However, the attacking player had repeatedly said in the past that he did not want to rush into anything regarding his future with the senior team – and even turned down an invitation from DFB team manager Julian Nagelsmann.

Wanner made contact with the Austrian national team in November 2022 when he was invited by team manager Ralf Rangnick to the training camp in Marbella and was then allowed to spend a few days getting a taste of red-white-red soccer as an "additional training player"...