Six Germany players who could threaten England’s Euro Under-21 hopes

Niklas Stark

The withdrawal of the highly rated Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah on the eve of the tournament left a large gap to fill at the back and Stark – who was outstanding in central midfield for Hertha Berlin as they secured Europa League qualification by finishing sixth in the Bundesliga last season – was chosen to fill it. A sloppy pass against Italy forced the classy midfielder Mo Dahoud into an uncharacteristic mistake that gifted Federico Bernardeschi the only goal in the Azzurrini’s Group C victory on Saturday as Germany conceded their first goal of the tournament. The 22-year-old will be looking to make amends against England.

Maximilian Arnold

A left-sided central midfielder who has formed a formidable partnership with Dahoud over the past few months for the Under-21s, Arnold became Wolfsburg’s youngest-ever player in 2011 and has made more than 100 league appearances for Die Wölfe. He is also one of four players in this squad to have represented the senior side, although the 22-year-old’s solitary cap against Poland came more than three years ago as a substitute. That is mainly because of the competition in that area of the pitch, with Toni Kroos and Julian Weigl among those ahead of him in Joachim Löw’s pecking order.

Maximilian Philipp

Restricted to the bench for most of the tournament, the forward could be brought in for Mitchell Weiser against England if the coach, Stefan Kuntz, decides to go for a more attacking lineup. Philipp starred for Freiburg in their 2015-16 promotion season and followed that with nine goals in the Bundesliga last season as they finished seventh to reach the Europa League qualification rounds. Borussia Dortmund paid €20m for him at the start of June. Dahoud is among other players who have moved to the Westfalenstadion for next season.

Max Meyer

Tottenham and Liverpool have been linked with a move for Schalke’s stocky attacking midfielder, who has four senior caps. As a child, Meyer played futsal in the afternoon after featuring in a traditional match for his junior club in the morning and the influence of the Brazilian version of the game is clear in his mesmerising dribbling. Despite finding the target only once last season in the Bundesliga as Schalke ended a disappointing 10th, the 21-year-old scored the first goal in the victory over Czech Republic in the opening match and has been a key attacking threat.

Serge Gnabry

The powerful winger deemed not good enough for West Brom two years ago sealed a move to Bayern Munich this month after a brilliant season for Werder Bremen and is a vital outlet for Germany. Gnabry joined Arsenal from his local team Stuttgart in 2011 but played only a handful of times and was recalled early from a season-long loan at The Hawthorns after a solitary league appearance under Tony Pulis. Having starred for his country at the 2014 Olympics in Rio with six goals, the 21-year-old scored a hat-trick on his senior debut in the 8-0 thrashing of San Marino in November.

Davie Selke

The beanpole striker won the top scorer and player of the tournament awards at the 2014 European Under-19 Championship but found opportunities at RB Leipzig harder to come by as they ended last season as runners-up. That prompted a £7m move to Hertha Berlin a few weeks before the tournament and Selke will be keen to show his new employers he was worth the investment. Powerful in the air and strong, the son of an Ethiopian father and Czech mother showed he is equally adept with the ball at his feet with the first goal in the 3-0 victory over Denmark in Germany’s second match.