Germany

Die Mannschaft

Mesut has despite his National herritige pledged alliegence to Germany, the country he was born in, as the country he wants to represent. In September 2006 he was included in the German U-17 team. And he joined the U-21 team the year after in 2007 as an 18 year old. He won the the U-21 European Championship with Germany in 2009 and was selected the man of the match in the final, which Germany won 4-0 over England on 29 June 2009.

His senior side career started with a friendly match against Norway on 11 February 2009. And he then scored his first goal for the seniors in his third appearance, in another friendly against Sout Africa on 5 September 2009 in Leverkusen.

World Cup 2010, South Africa

Mesut was selected for Germanys 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, starting in all of the team’s matches. In Germany’s first group match against Australia, Mesut provided Cacau with an assist for his 4-0 goal, which was the final score. He then scored a left-footed half-volley from the edge of the penalty area against Ghana in the final group game, ensuring Germany progressed to the second round as group winners. On 27 June 2010, he played in Germany’s win over Englandin the last 16 match, setting up the fourth goal with a cross to Thomas Müller as Germany triumphed 4–1. During the quarter-final match against Argentina he assisted the second goal for Miroslav Klose with a cross to ensure the 4–0 final score for the Germans. FIFA announced that he was among the ten tournament players nominated for the Golden Ball.

Euro 2012
Özil was one of the leading forces in Germany’s qualification for Euro 2012, he scored five times during the campaign as Germany won 10 out of 10 games to top their group. Özil also confirmed his reputation as a decisive passer, as he provided 7 assists, more than any European international during Euro 2012 qualification.