Werder’s five players called up for international duty have all been in action already. While Milos Veljkovic’s Serbia eased their relegation worries and are now dreaming of the quarter-finals after his ‘home’ game in Switzerland, Romano Schmid’s Austria are pushing for promotion. Mio Backhaus, Keke Topp and Isak Hansen-Aarøen all tasted defeat however.
Milos Veljkovic returned to the starting eleven after his foot injury. The 28-year-old featured for Serbia in what was almost a ‘home’ game for him in Switzerland. The Werder defender was born in Basel and grew up in the country until moving to the youth academy of Tottenham Hotspur. “It was a special experience for me to be able to play in front of my family, who made the hour-long journey from Basel to Zürich,” said the centre-back. “It was also the first time I’ve played in Switzerland in senior football.”
Veljkovic’s side rescued a late 1-1 draw in Zürich with a goal from Aleksa Terzic (88’). Head coach Dragan Stojkovic’s side not only banished the threat of automatic relegation, but also gave themselves the chance to reach the quarter-finals with a win over Denmark on Monday, 18th November (20:45 CET). “It was definitely a good game for the neutral with a lot of chances at both ends,” added Werder’s number 13. In the end, we’re okay with a point, because our aim was still to have the chance to finish second when we play the final game against Denmark.”
Isak Hansen-Aarøen meanwhile endured a difficult evening. The 20-year-old remained on the bench as Norway suffered a 5-1 defeat to Finland in the first leg of their 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-off. Werder’s number 21 and his teammates now have a tough task ahead of them as they prepare for the second leg in Stavanger on Tuesday, 19th November (18:30 CET). Though Mio Backhaus and Keke Topp were named in the starting eleven for Germany U20’s away match against England, their side suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat. Head coach Hannes Wolf’s team next travel to Türkiye on Tuesday (17:00 CET).
On Thursday afternoon, Romano Schmid made his seventh successive start for Austria, playing 77 minutes of their 2-0 win over Kazakhstan. Werder’s number 20 came very close to scoring his second goal for his country in the second half after getting on the end of a cross from Hoffenheim’s Alexander Prass, but he was denied by goalkeeper Stas Pokatilov. On Sunday, 17th November (18:00 CET), head coach Ralf Rangnick’s side have the chance to seal promotion to UEFA Nations League A with a victory over Slovenia.
