International Career
After electing to represent Germany at international level, Neuville made his international debut on 2 September 1998 against Malta, in a friendly, replacing Mario Basler for the last fifteen minutes of the 2–1 away win. In his first months training with the national team, he needed an interpreter to understand coach Erich Ribbeck's message, while getting his across as well.
Subsequently, Neuville went to collect 69 caps with ten goals, being picked for the squad that finished second at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and scoring the game's only goal in the round of 16 win against Paraguay.
After missing selection for UEFA Euro 2004, in the second group stage match of the 2006 World Cup against Poland Neuville, who had replaced Lukas Podolski, buried a desperate injury-time cross from fellow substitute David Odonkor, beating goalkeeper Artur Boruc on the way to a 1–0 victory.
He didn't score again for the national team until 31 May 2008, when he slid in a Marcell Jansen cross in a Euro 2008 warm-up against Serbia, appearing in the tournament's final stages in the group B match against Austria as a late substitute, and retiring from international play at the age of 35.
Read more about this topic: Oliver Neuville
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