Austria’s charm offensive to get Bayern Munich wonderkid Paul Wanner to represent them on the international stage ahead of Germany has been well documented and has been ongoing for years now.
Wanner has very clearly articulated in the past that the decision of which neighboring country to represent is a difficult one and one he wants to take time with, leading to him deciding to stay at loan club Heidenheim instead of representing either country in the September international break. One month later, however, he has chosen to represent Germany’s U-21s in the October international break. Is this a decision in favor of Germany?
No, says Austria manager Ralf Rangnick: “Even though he has now been called up to the German U-21 team, that doesn’t mean anything at all. It will be crucial when he wants or has to decide which senior national team he will play for. I’m in regular contact with Paul, and had a long phone call with him two weeks ago,” Rangnick said, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “He told me that [he] cannot and does not want to make this decision yet, and that’s completely fine with me. In the end, it’s a question of where he sees better chances of playing regularly in the next tournaments.”
Is it too romantic to believe players used to choose nationalities based on what country they identify with most? Regardless, Wanner will find it more and more difficult to walk the line between the two countries as time passes, his star in the Bundesliga continues to rise and it becomes easier and easier to justify his inclusion in the senior German team. How many more international breaks can he either decline to represent a country or choose Germany’s U-21s as the 2026 World Cup approaches? Only time will tell…
