East Germany national under-21 football team
| Nickname(s) | — | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | German Football Association of the GDR | ||
| Head coach | Walter Fritzsch | ||
| Most caps | Udo Schmuck (42) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
| U-23: Bulgaria 3–2 East Germany (Stara Zagora, Bulgaria; June 7, 1967) U-21: Turkey 1–1 East Germany (Stockerau, Austria; November 14, 1989) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| U-23: East Germany 6–0 Albania (Potsdam, East Germany; November 3, 1973) U-21: Austria 1–6 East Germany (Wien, Austria; September 24, 1977) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| U-23: Hungary 4–0 East Germany (Budapest, Hungary; May 28, 1974) U-21: East Germany 0–4 Norway (Rostock, East Germany; October 29, 1980) | |||
| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 1978) | ||
| Best result | Runners-up (1978 & 1980) | ||
The East Germany national football team was the national football team of the German Democratic Republic. The East Germany national under-21 football team was a selection team that represented East Germany internationally with an age restriction.
The East Germany national under-21 team served as the link between the East Germany national under-18 football team (German: Juniorenauswahl) and the East Germany national senior football team. The team operated with the neutral name "Next Generation Selection" (German: Nachwuchsauswahl) and the age restriction was not always constant. Only from 1972 to 1976, when an under-23 team and an under-21 team played in parallel, existed a more specific distinction between the under-21 team and the under-23 team. Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, a distinct East Germany under-21 team was formed.
The team played until the re-unification of Germany in 1990, when East Germany ceased to be a separate country. Before re-unification, the East Germany national under-21 football team was a little bit more successful than its Western counterpart in the UEFA Under-23 Championships and the UEFA Under-21 Championships, finishing runner-up on three occasions. The West Germany national under-21 football team finished runner-up once and reached the quarter-finals twice. The East Germany national under-21 football team failed to qualify seven times, while the West Germany national under-21 football team failed to qualify four times and didn't enter on three occations.
The East Germany under-21 national football team played over 275 official international matches against youth teams from other football associations between 1953 and 1989 - 112 matches as an under-23 team and 164 matches as an under-21 team. From 1978 until 1991, the trainer of the team was Walter Fritzsch.
The team competed in the UEFA Under-21 Championship. Since the under-21 competition rules state that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, technically it is an under-23 competition. East Germany's record for the preceding under-23 competitions is also shown.