When the national teams of Germany and Austria face off in their Euro2012 qualifier on Friday, 2 September 2011 at 8:45 p.m. in Gelsenkirchen, the game will have a special meaning for three Werder Bremen players. In addition to Bremen keeper Tim Wiese, German national team coach Joachim Löw has also nominated Werder defender Per Mertesacker, who has fully recovered after his injury break. Mertesacker last played for Germany on 26 March 2011, earning his 75th cap in a 4-0 victory over Kazakhstan in Kaiserslautern. "I am happy that Per is fit again and back with us," said Löw on the German federation's home page.
On the following Tuesday at 8:45 p.m., Wiese and "Merte" will face off against Euro2012 co-hosts Poland in Gdansk. Werder striker Marko Arnautovic is also looking forward to the next international game days as Austrian coach Dietmar Constantini nominated Arnautovic for the games against Germany and Turkey four days later in Vienna (kick-off at 8:30 p.m.). Other Werder players in international action are Markus Rosenberg (Sweden), Mehmet Ekici (Turkey) and Sokratis (Greece).
In addition, Werder talents Aleksandar Ignjovski, Lennart Thy, Florian Trinks and Orhan Yildirim are also playing for various youth national teams.