Nicolo Tresoldi's International Dilemma: Italy vs Germany
Nicolo Tresoldi is not ready to choose. Not yet.
The Club Brugge striker, long courted by Italy and already embedded in Germany’s youth setup, has pressed pause on one of the most intriguing international tug-of-wars in European football.
Tresoldi hits the brakes
Several Italian outlets report that, despite recent noise, Tresoldi has not committed his future to the Azzurri. In a meeting at the FIGC headquarters with new Italy coach Roberto Mancini and technical director Claudio Ranieri, the 22-year-old is said to have asked for time — and, crucially, requested not to be called up for the upcoming Nations League fixtures.
Italy had gone as far as initiating the process with FIFA for an association switch. That paperwork is now on ice, parked at Tresoldi’s request while he finishes what he started with Germany’s Under-21s.
He wants to see out the current U21 cycle. That is his line in the sand for now.
A striker in demand
The hesitation comes at a moment when Tresoldi’s stock is rising fast. At Club Brugge, he has started the season with the urgency of a player who knows every performance will be clipped, shared and dissected in two countries.
Five goals in seven matches. Another on Tuesday night, this time on the biggest club stage: a sharp finish in Brugge’s 3-2 Champions League defeat to Aston Villa. Even in a loss, he underlined why scouts, national team selectors and sporting directors keep circling his name.
Those performances have fuelled a summer of speculation. At the end of August, Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Tresoldi had chosen Italy. In Germany, Bild countered that he remained undecided. The latest developments back the German version: the decision is still very much open.
Roots in three countries, future in one shirt
Tresoldi’s story does not fit into a neat box. Born in Cagliari to an Italian father and Argentinian mother, he spent his early childhood in Italy before moving to Germany at 13. There, he came through the academy at Hannover 96, learning the game in the Bundesliga system while carrying an Italian passport and Argentinian bloodline.
In 2025, Club Brugge invested €7.5 million to bring him to Belgium. It already looks like smart business.
Since the Under-19s, Tresoldi has worn the DFB badge. For Germany’s Under-21s, he has 12 goals in 24 appearances — a return that explains why the German federation has no intention of letting him go without a fight.
Nagelsmann’s near-miss and Klopp’s looming call
His rise almost took him to the World Cup. During his outstanding first season in Brugge, Tresoldi pushed himself into contention for Julian Nagelsmann’s senior Germany squad.
Nagelsmann later admitted how close it came. Tresoldi, he said, was “really very close for a long time” to making the final list, describing him as a striker with “that special instinct in the penalty area”. In the end, he stayed home. The message, though, was clear: his “time will come”.
That time might arrive under a different boss. Nagelsmann stepped down after Germany’s disastrous World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, leaving Jürgen Klopp to pick up the pieces and start again. Klopp will name his first squad on 17 September. He has not yet spoken publicly about Tresoldi, but the opportunity is obvious.
If Germany want to keep him, a senior call-up would be the strongest statement they can make.
Italy’s rebuild and a waiting game
On the other side of the Alps, Italy are rebuilding too. Mancini has returned to the bench after another painful failure to reach the World Cup finals. The Nations League schedule is unforgiving: Belgium on 25 September, France on 2 October, and Turkey twice on 28 September and 5 October.
Those matches were earmarked as a possible launchpad for Tresoldi in blue. Instead, Italy must wait.
For now, the striker who grew up in Cagliari, learned his trade in Hannover and is thriving in Bruges will keep scoring, keep thinking and keep both nations guessing.
At some point, one shirt will win. The question is whether Germany or Italy blinks first.
