Why isn't Lena Oberdorf at the Euros this summer?

 Lena Oberdorf of Germany plays the ball during the match after the match the UEFA Women's European Qualifier match between Germany and Iceland on April 9, 2024 in Aachen, Germany
Lena Oberdorf (Image credit: Getty Images)

The current Germany women’s side are under pressure to succeed going into the 2025 UEFA European Championships.

After the failure to get beyond the group stage at the World Cup two years ago, the most successful European nation in history need a strong run in Switzerland.

And now they will have to do so without one of the most promising young talents in the game as Lena Oberdorf has been ruled out of the tournament.

Lena Oberdorf: Why isn't she a part of Germany's squad?

Lena Oberdorf

Lena Oberdorf battles against Rachel Daly in the Euro 2022 final (Image credit: Getty Images)

Oberdorf is still recovering from her cruciate ligament injury suffered in 2024 and after a recent assessment, Christian Wück has decided against calling her up.

She has not played a game for Bayern Munich this season because of the injury.

However, a recent call-up to the Nations League squad gave some fans hope she may play a part in this summer's tournament.

But the timing did not pan out for the star, whose next opportunity at a major tournament will now be the 2027 World Cup.

Lena Oberdorf of FC Bayern München Women's poses during the team presentation for the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga season 2024/2025 on July 4, 2024 in Munich, Germany.

Lena Oberdorf has been unlucky with injury (Image credit: Jasmin Walter/Getty Images for DFB)

Lena Oberdorf: Her career so far

Clearly a top talent from a young age, Oberdorf was the only girl in the youth league she played in, captaining her TSG Sprockhovel side.

She also comes from a football family, with brother Tim a regular for 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf.

As she later revealed in an interview before the World Cup, that often made her the target of some rough challenges from the boys on opposing teams.

It would make her a better player in the long run. Oberdorf, who is 24th on FourFourTwo's best players right now list, signed for SGS Essen in November 2017, with her first senior season coming a year later.

Playing as an attacking midfielder, she scored nine goals in her first campaign. After two seasons with Essen, Oberdorf moved to German domestic heavyweights VfL Wolfsburg.

Lena Oberdorf watches the ball

Lena Oberdorf was a standout star at Euro 2022 (Image credit: Getty Images)

She developed positionally during her time with the She-wolves, featuring in defence when required.

By this point, she was already a regular in the German national side – having broken into the team a few months before the 2019 World Cup in France.

When appearing as a substitute against China in the group stage, Oberdorf became the youngest German World Cup player in history, at the age of 17 years, five months and 20 days.

But it was Euro 2022 where she truly shone as a key player. Oberdorf featured in five of Germany’s six games during their run to the final, only missing one for suspension.

She claimed the Young Player of the Tournament award and was also named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. In 2024, Bayern Munich triggered a release clause in Oberdorf’s contract, making her the most expensive female German footballer in history.

This is despite the fact she was unavailable at the time, out with a severe cruciate ligament injury – Oberdorf another victim of the ACL epidemic in the women’s game.

This also caused her to miss the 2024 Olympics in France last summer. Oberdorf would have been looking to make up for lost time by returning for the European Championships.

However, needing further time to recover, her comeback was put on hold, until the start of 2025/26.

Her German teammates will now have to try and reclaim the title without the talented Bayern star.

Jack Lacey-Hatton
Freelance writer

Jack has worked as a sports reporter full-time since 2021. He previously worked as the Chief Women’s Football Writer at the Mirror, covering the England Women’s national team and the Women’s Super League. Jack has reported on a number of major sporting events in recent years including the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on the ground in Australia. When not writing on football, he can often be spotted playing the game somewhere in west London.

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