USMNT likely to lose promising youngster as Germany debut on the horizon

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 3 Oct 2025 10:11 CDT
• 2 min read

News

It seems likely that the USMNT will miss out on a promising young player for good.

Nathaniel Brown of Eintracht Frankfurt was born in Amberg, Germany in 2003 to an American father and a German mother.

He is eligible both for the United States and Germany, though he has previously played for Germany's Under-21 side.

With the U-21s, he was a key figure as they reached the European Championships final this past summer.

While Brown has never officially been tied to the USA in his career, he was previously asked if he would consider playing for the USMNT. He replied in an official club video:

"Of course. There was contact as well, but I was born in Germany and I've played for the Under-21s.”

Now, however, it looks like he'll never play for the USA as he has received a call-up to the Germany senior squad for the first time by head coach Julian Nagelsmann.

Germany will play World Cup qualifying fixtures against Luxembourg on 10 October and Northern Ireland on 13 October and should Brown feature it will likely permanently tie his international career to the country of his birth.

The 22-year-old is seen as a potential star of the future and Germany are going through a bit of a transition period, particularly in defence, after their disappointing exit from Euro 2024 at the quarter-final stage after defeat by Spain.

Expert opinion

Here's the lowdown on Brown from Bundesliga expert Ronan Murphy:

"Nathaniel Brown sounds like the latest USMNT roster inclusion, but America's loss is Germany's gain as the young left-back is now in Julian Nagelsmann's senior squad ahead of the World Cup. Brown gets his familiar surname from his American father, and was approached by U.S. Soccer in the hope he would switch from the country of his birth. Instead, the Bavarian-born defender stuck with the country of his birth and featured for Germany Under-21s as they reached the UEFA European U21 Championship final.

"His latest performances for Eintracht Frankfurt have been rewarded even further with a call from Nagelsmann and an audition before next summer's World Cup in North America. His versatility could be crucial in earning a place in the final squad, as he can play at right-back as well and has even been tested in midfield at Frankfurt.

"USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino had been hoping that Brown might follow the example set by Malik Tillman, who played for Germany at various underage levels before switching to his father's country at senior level, but Brown could forever be the one that got away for the United States."

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store