Germany U21 captain Tom Bischof reflects on senior men’s national team prospects | OneFootball

Young Köln phenom Said El Mala isn’t the only Germany U21 international who knows what it’s like to drop from senior back down to youth level. In El Mala’s case, it all happened during a whirlwind ten-day-span that saw him earn a senior team call up before being shipped back to the U21s. The story of 20-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder Tom Bischof is quite different, though there are some similarities. 

Bischof has already been capped once at senior level, playing 25 minutes as a substitute for Germany during the third-place playoff against France in the Nations League this summer. The Aschaffenburg-native might have continued along this trajectory had it not been for an ill-timed appendix operation this summer. The surgery saw him sidelined for both club and country. 

Once fully fit again, Bischof landed with the U21s during the October international break. The highly touted Bayern summer signing actually never represented Germany at the highest youth level before, having directly made the jump from the U20s to the senior team. Some argued that Bischof’s move to the highest overall level had come too soon.

Bischof seemed to have difficulty adjusting to matters during the October international break, but now seems confident and secure in his new role. A hat trick in the Germany U21 victory over Malta during a 2027 European U21 championship qualifying match in Fürth on Friday certainly helped. 

Speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of the second qualifying fixture of the current international break (in which Bischof also started and Germany also won) Bischof exuded a calm humility when discussing the matter of his national team path. 

“A hat trick is pretty good,” Bischof said when reflecting on his previous performance. “My family was naturally very happy, but my mother pointed out that I had three unnecessary ball losses. She was unfortunately correct. I can’t really dispute that.“

With all the shuffling between senior level and youth level going on, a reporter then wished to know how Bischof’s relationship with German national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann stood. The reporter attempted to bait Bischof a bit with the story of his Germany U21 teammate Assan Ouédraogo of RB Leipzig.

Bischof wasn’t taking the bait. 

“I haven’t had any recent contract with him [Nagelsmann],” Bischof said. “I’m sure that he’s monitoring the situation and, as along as one delivers, one remains on his radar.“

GGFN | Peter Weis