Malte Elze tries to win the European Championship with Germany’s U18 team

Malte Elze Plays for Germany’s U18 Team at the European Championship

SCM has just started their pre-season. But their coach, Bennet Wiegert, already misses one player. This is a good reason. Malte Elze is playing with the German U18 team at the European Championship in Serbia.

The tournament is from 29 July to 9 August 2026. Players born in 2008 or later will play for the European Championship title.

Malte Elze is 18 years old. He will play together with Elvis Kretzschmar and Mats Brigzinsky. Their first game is on July 29 at 2:30 p.m. They will play against Italy in Belgrade.

The next game is on July 30 at 7:30 p.m. They will play against Serbia, the host country. The last game in the first group is on August 1 at 2:30 p.m. They will play against Turkey.

There are 24 countries in the tournament. They have six groups, with four teams in each group. The two best teams from each group go to the next rounds. The best eight teams go to the quarter-finals.

Last year, the German team won gold at the U17 World Championships. Now, they want to win another medal.

Malte Elze, the team captain, said: “I’m really looking forward to this European Championship. I want to play my best in every game. I think we have good chances, especially if we play well together.”

In a practice game before the tournament, Germany won 35-26 against Switzerland. Elze said: “The atmosphere here is very good. I get on well with the team and staff. The team spirit is great.”

Even though Elze is in Serbia, he stays in touch with SCM. He said: “I talk with our coach and some players. If I can, I will watch the SCM games. Now, my focus is on the European Championship. After that, I will focus fully on SCM again.”