Backhaus enjoys elite league success as Kaboré records pair of wins | OneFootball

Backhaus made his ninth appearance at U20 level for Germany (Photo: DFB/Getty Images).

March international break review

Four of Werder’s first team were in action for their national sides during the March international break, with the players enjoying varying degrees of success. Experiences ranged from a missed chance at Nations League promotion to winning the Elite League and positive results on the road to the World Cup.

Marco Grüll was handed his sixth cap for Austria (Photo: ÖFB/Kelemen).

Romano Schmid has become a permanent fixture of the Austria national team, starting both legs of his country’s Nations League play-off with Serbia. Despite the Austrians controlling much of proceedings, they ultimately fell short in their quest for promotion to League A. After a 1-1 draw in the first meeting, Serbia ensured they avoided relegation with a 2-0 second-leg victory.

Marco Grüll completed the pair of Green-Whites to be called up by Ralf Rangnick for his Austria squad. The Werder forward was brought on during the second half of the match in Belgrade for a sixth cap in his national colours. “I am obviously very pleased to have been able to play for my country once again after such a long period,” explained Grüll, who had previously featured for Austria in June 2024. “It is disappointing to come away empty-handed from this play-off fixture, because we were the better side over the course of the two legs. Attentions now need to turn to the next task at hand, that being the beginning of our World Cup qualifying campaign.” Austria kick off qualification with ties against Romania (7th June) and San Marino (10th June).

A point against Portugal sees Germany U20 clinch elite league glory

Issa Kaboré and Burkina Faso have already made their first steps towards the 2026 World Cup, which is to be held in Canada, Mexico and the USA. The 23-year-old played the full 90 minutes of both of his nation’s qualifiers, helping to register wins against Djibouti (4-1) and Guinea-Bissau (2-1). Six points from six leaves Burkina Faso second in their group behind Egypt, with only the nine group winners securing automatic qualification for the tournament finals. The four best second-placed nations will then battle it out in play-off rounds for Africa’s final World Cup spot.

Mio Backhaus returns to Bremen off the back of a very successful end to his Elite League campaign with the Germany U20s. The 20-year-old started between the sticks and recorded a clean sheet as the young Germans saw off Czechia 1-0 before Karlsruhe’s Max Weiß was selected by head coach Hannes Wolf to begin in goal for the 1-1 draw with Portugal. That point served to move Germany ahead of both England and Italy in the table, crowning them Elite League champions.