After an intensive preparation period, U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter The roster for the upcoming IIHF U20 World Championship 2026 in the USA has been announced. Following forward Maximilian Brunner's injury last weekend, Tobias Abstreiter has decided against making any further roster changes for the World Championship. The German U20 national team will therefore travel to Saint Paul (USA), the venue for Germany's Group A, today, Tuesday, with 25 players (three goaltenders, eight defensemen, and 14 forwards). The coaching staff, led by U20 head coach Tobias Abstreiter, consists of Jochen Molling (assistant coach), Patrick Strauch (assistant coach), Luca Endres (goaltender coach), and Christian Bachmann (strength and conditioning coach).
U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter on the World Cup preparation in Duluth (USA): "The preparation went exactly as we had envisioned and planned, from an organizational standpoint. The training content was spot on, and the two international matches against Finland and the USA were very intense and instructive for us. The guys really pulled their weight; they're eager to learn, inquisitive, and want to improve every day – you can tell. That's a good foundation for us. Now it's about making the most of the next few days so that the team is in the best possible shape for the first World Championship match against one of the top favorites."
The journey begins in Saint Paul DEBThe German team will begin their World Championship campaign on Friday, December 26th, at 5 p.m. local time (December 27th at midnight German time, live and free on MagentaSport). As in the previous year, the defending champions from the USA will be Germany's opening opponent. In addition to the North American hosts, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland are Germany's other preliminary round opponents. DEBThe team will play all group games in the Grand Casino Arena, the home arena of the NHL team Minnesota Wild.
U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter on the upcoming World Championship: "The World Cup will certainly be an exciting challenge. It's always a special time around Christmas when the best young players in the world compete against each other. With four preliminary matches in five days, it will be a very intense tournament that will demand everything from us. The boys are eager and hungry for the World Cup; they want to perform well and make a good impression as a team. That's our goal, and that's how we'll start our first World Cup match against the USA. We will support the boys in the best way possible so that we can be successful together."
U20 World Cup Preliminary Round Schedule / Group A
December 26, 2025 | 5:00 PM (CT) | Germany - USA
December 27, 2025 | 1:00 PM (CT) | Slovakia – Germany
December 26, 2025 | 5:00 PM (CT) | Germany - Sweden
December 30, 2025 | 1:00 PM (CT) | Switzerland – Germany
Further information can be found on the tournament website of the International Ice Hockey Federation: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/wm20/
The World Cup games of the German U20 national team will be broadcast live and free of charge on MagentaSport.