Julian Nagelsmann suffers embarrassing gaffe as Germany call up Latvian to national team

The German FA have been caught off guard after they seemingly called up a Latvian to the German national team just months after he turned out against them

Will Schofield Senior Sports Reporter

21:20, 07 Nov 2024

DUESSELDORF, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 07: Head coach Julian Nagelsmann of Germany reacts during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League A Group A3 match between Germany and Hungary at Merkur Spiel-Arena on September 07, 2024 in Duesseldorf, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Julian Nagelsmann's side suffered the gaffe(Image: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

The German FA have been caught off guard after mistakenly including a Latvian player in their squad for the upcoming Nations League clashes.

Germany will welcome Bosnia and Herzegovina before jetting off to Hungary to wrap up their group stage matches. However, before they can concentrate on these fixtures, the DFB had to backtrack on their player selection.

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Reports suggest a gaffe saw Julian Nagelsmann apparently call up Dario Sits, who plays for Helmond Sport on loan from his parent club Parma. The oddity of the situation is heightened by the fact that Sits hails from Latvia and even faced Germany's under-21s a few years back.

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The blunder was swiftly corrected with Sits' name dropped from the list once the DFB clocked the mix-up. Citing a report by the Associated Press, the association cited "a technical error in the database" as the cause behind Sits' unexpected nomination.

Not only has Sits bagged two caps for Latvia, making him ineligible for the German side, but he's also received a nod for Latvia's match-ups against North Macedonia and Armenia this month.

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HELMOND, NETHERLANDS - OCTOBER 4: Dario Sits of Helmond Sport applauds for the fans during the Dutch Keuken Kampioen Divisie match between Helmond Sport and Jong Ajax at Lavans Stadion on October 4, 2024 in Helmond, Netherlands. (Photo by Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

Dario Sits is Latvian(Image: Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

Alongside the mix-up involving Sits, Nagelsmann is tackling another predicament with Paul Wanner from Heidenheim turning down the summons for the games, reports the Mirror.

While Sits was a clear blunder, Nagelsmann has actually thrown a few curveballs with his squad choices. Manchester City's second-choice keeper Stefan Ortega might bag his first cap as Barcelona's Marc-André ter Stegen is sidelined for the season.

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Arsenal ace Kai Havertz and Bayern Munich's young gun Jamal Musiala are back in action for Germany after sitting out previous matches due to injuries.

The German squad has already secured their spot in the Nations League quarter-finals set for March, with the draw for the finals happening at November's end.