The table below lists the oldest twenty-five players who have stepped out onto the pitch for the Nationalmannschaft, since the team’s first fixture against Switzerland in Basel on 5th April 1908. The average age of the that first-ever Germany team was just over twenty-one years, with the oldest player being the twenty-six year old Arthur “Ille” Hiller.
This record was quickly surpassed, and as of 17th May 2017 the oldest-ever player to wear the Nationaltrikot is Lothar Matthäus at the age of 39 years and 91 days. Matthäus’ 150th and final appearance was at Euro 2000, in Germany’s final group stage match against Portugal in Rotterdam.
Interestingly, Matthäus also appears in the list of youngest debutants, having made his international bow against the Netherlands at Euro 1980. Matthäus not only holds the national record for the most senior international appearances at 150, but also the record for the longest-serving German player – a spell stretching 20 years and 6 days.
| Pic | Name | Born | Birthplace | Last Match | Opponent | Venue | Caps | Age at Last Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | MATTHÄUS, Lothar | 1961.03.21 | Erlangen | 2000.06.20 | Portugal | Rotterdam (NED) | 150 | 39 Years, 91 Days |
 | LEHMANN, Jens | 1969.11.10 | Essen | 2008.06.29 | Spain | Wien (AUT) | 61 | 38 Years, 231 Days |
 | WALTER, Friedrich "Fritz" | 1920.10.31 | Kaiserslautern | 1958.06.24 | Sweden | Göteborg | 61 | 37 Years, 235 Days |
 | KAHN, Oliver "Olli" | 1969.06.15 | Karlsruhe | 2006.07.08 | Portugal | Stuttgart | 86 | 37 Years, 23 Days |
 | NEUER, Manuel* | 1986.03.27 | Gelsenkirchen | 2022.12.01 | Costa Rica | Mönchengladbach | 117 | 36 Years, 250 Days |
 | KREß, Richard | 1925.03.06 | Niesig | 1961.10.22 | Greece | Augsburg | 9 | 36 Years, 230 Days |
 | KUPFER, Andreas "Ander" | 1914.05.07 | Schweinfurt | 1950.11.22 | Switzerland | Stuttgart | 44 | 36 Years, 199 Days |
 | KÖPKE, Andreas "Andy" | 1962.03.12 | Kiel | 1998.07.04 | Croatia | Lyon (FRA) | 59 | 36 Years, 114 Days |
 | BUTT, Hans-Jörg | 1974.05.28 | Oldenburg | 2010.07.10 | Uruguay | Port Elizabeth (RSA) | 4 | 36 Years, 43 Days |
 | KLOSE, Miroslav | 1978.06.09 | Opole/Oppeln (POL) | 2014.07.13 | Argentina | Rio de Janeiro (BRA) | 137 | 36 Years, 34 Days |
 | SESTA, Karl | 1906.03.18 | Wien-Simmering (AUT/AUH) | 1942.02.01 | Switzerland | Wien | 3 | 35 Years, 320 Days |
 | TEWES, Karl | 1886.08.18 | Berlin | 1922.07.02 | Hungary | Bochum | 6 | 35 Years, 318 Days |
 | HAGEN, Hans | 1894.07.15 | Fürth | 1930.05.04 | Switzerland | Zürich | 12 | 35 Years, 293 Days |
 | TUREK, Anton "Toni" | 1919.01.18 | Duisburg | 1954.01.16 | France | Hannover | 20 | 35 Years, 271 Days |
 | JÄGER, Adolf | 1889.03.31 | Altona/Elbe | 1924.12.14 | Switzerland | Stuttgart | 18 | 35 Years, 258 Days |
 | STREITLE, Jakob | 1916.12.11 | Ulm | 1952.05.04 | Rep. of Ireland | Dublin | 15 | 35 Years, 144 Days |
 | MAIER, Josef "Sepp" | 1944.02.28 | Metten | 1979.05.26 | Iceland | Reykjavík | 95 | 35 Years, 87 Days |
 | MOCK, Johann | 1906.12.09 | Wien (AUT/AUH) | 1942.02.01 | Switzerland | Wien | 5 | 35 Years, 54 Days |
 | NEUVILLE, Oliver | 1973.05.01 | Locarno (SUI) | 2008.06.16 | Austria | Wien | 69 | 35 Years, 46 Days |
 | KUNTZ, Stefan | 1962.10.30 | Neunkirchen | 1997.10.11 | Albania | Hannover | 25 | 34 Years, 346 Days |
 | WEIDENFELLER, Roman | 1980.08.06 | Diez | 2015.06.13 | Gibraltar | Faro (POR) | 5 | 34 Years, 310 Days |
 | LINKE, Thomas | 1969.12.26 | Sömmerda (DDR) | 2004.08.18 | Austria | Wien | 43 | 34 Years, 235 Days |
 | SCHÄFER, Hans | 1927.10.19 | Köln-Zollstock | 1962.06.10 | Yugoslavia | Santiago (CHI) | 39 | 34 Years, 234 Days |
 | KIRSTEN, Ulf | 1965.12.04 | Riesa (DDR) | 2000.06.20 | Portugal | Rotterdam (NED) | 51 | 34 Years, 198 Days |
 | FRANKE, Bernd | 1948.02.12 | Bliesen | 1982.05.12 | Norway | Oslo | 7 | 34 Years, 89 Days |
 | VÖLLER, Rudolf "Rudi" | 1960.04.13 | Hanau | 1994.07.10 | Bulgaria | East Rutherford, NY (USA) | 90 | 34 Years, 87 days |