Emre Can was delighted to receive the short-term call-up to represent Germany at the 2024 European Championship and celebrated his return to the national team on Friday with a goal against Scotland.
Unsurprisingly, Emre Can was missing from the German national team’s original squad for the 2024 European Championship. On Wednesday, he was surprisingly called up to the national team after Aleksandar Pavlović had to withdraw from the squad due to tonsillitis.
Can joined the German team on the eve of their Euro 2016 opening match against Scotland. On Friday, Can came off the bench and scored a beautiful goal that helped Germany to a 5-1 victory over Scotland.
For Can, it was his first appearance for the national team since September 2023. After the game, he said he was grateful to Julian Nagelsmann for this opportunity. “It’s a great feeling and a crazy story. That’s why we love football,” Can told ZDF. “Two days ago I was still on vacation. On Wednesday I got the call, trained once, came on as a substitute and scored a goal. I am very happy and grateful that Julian and his team have put their trust in me.”
“We have to keep our foot on the accelerator and keep going like this. This was just the first step. But it was a very, very good first step.”
Can has endured a difficult season on a personal level, but captained Borussia Dortmund to the UEFA Champions League final, where they lost to Real Madrid. He will now hope to help Germany make a long run at the European Championships before returning to BVB to lead the team under new head coach Nuri Sahin.
