Was Euro 2024 a success for the German team?
For a side who had ambitions to win the tournament, doesn’t sound like success and yet there is an overwhelming feel that Germany’s was very much a positive one for the team.
The European elections, held just days before the start of the tournament, showed Germany to still be a divided nation in some respects. While the (AfD) party took the most votes in eastern Germany, the center-right CDU-CSU party won in the west. The nation’s football team cannot close such gaps, but did aspire to be a symbol of a more united . In doing so, it after years of emotional disconnect.
It helped that on the field, the team rediscovered its mojo, playing exciting, risky, attacking football. brought the guile and the flair, Antonio Rüdiger and Joshua Kimmich celebrated defensive actions like goals, and head coach Julian Nagelsmann proved himself to be superb appointment, a man always looking to change things in his team’s favor at any point in the game.
Former St. Pauli head coach Fabian Hürzeler wasn’t wrong to say in a chat with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” that not beating a top team and having problems against the Swiss meant the tournament was “not outstanding” from a sporting perspective. And yet, after three straight tournaments where Germany disappointed and looked short of quality and luck, Euro 2024 was a step in the right direction. Unlike , this team’s return to the .
How do the fans feel?
Overwhelmingly positive. German sports magazine “kicker” ran a poll in which over 94,000 people were asked whether the national team had pulled them in emotionally. Over 78,000 said yes.
Obviously the disappointment at losing to Spain will remain, especially with many feeling Germany were denied a handball in extra time, but pride in this team has returned. The grumblings of Russia and Qatar are banished. The joy of , Frankfurt and Dortmund have replaced them as German fans revelled in their team’s performances, a squad announcement that included them, Andre Schnura’s saxophone, the team’s pink away kit and the friendly nature of travelling Scotland fans.
Bengt Kunkel was one of the leading figures in generating that atmosphere in the stands at Germany games, and the 25-year-old called the tournament “a dream journey for us fans.”
“It had a very special magic to it,” Kunkel told DW. “I believe that a foundation has been laid on which we can grow, and that Germany is keen on this national team again.”
The relationship has returned to being symbiotic. Fan support often played a role in the , and that was in turn acknowledged by the team, who wrote an open letter after their tournament ended, saying that despite missing out on delivering a title for Germany in Germany, the emotions on show from their fans is what remains.
“We have missed your affection in recent years. Now we have earned it back… And hopefully what stays in your memory is how we played for you, how we battled and scored.”
Has Julian Nagelsmann proved himself to be the right coach?
The former Bayern Munich head coach arrived with doubts hanging around him. Was he too intense, too detailed? Did he care too much about what he was wearing on the sidelines? All of that has been swept aside, as confirmed his coaching abilities and emerged as the right leader at the right time for Germany.
Nagelsmann constantly reacted to the ever-changing nature of games, often correcting his own mistakes. He regularly talked about how much of a privilege it was to work under such pressure. He spoke out against racism. were genuine, and a reminder of just how it matters to him. And in his final press conference, he also transferred all of the togetherness around the team and its fans to the nation.
“Being together must become more important again. We must not be consumed with envy, always paint everything in a negative light and not begrudge our neighbors anything,” Nagelsmann said in an emotional statement. “If everyone in their small circle, on their street, starts to help and support their neighbors, not always seeing the negative, integrating people – that is important.”
What happens next?
International football will be put to bed until a month after the domestic season starts on August 16. Germany have a host of Nations League games in September, October and November where they will play the Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary both home and away. Here, the first steps of Julian Nagelsmann’s cycle begin. In December 2024, Nagelsmann will find out who is in Germany’s qualifying group for the next World Cup, and the campaign to secure their spot in the final tournament starts in March 2025 if Germany are in a five-team group, September 2025 if they are in a four-team group.
Does Germany have a chance of winning the 2026 World Cup?
After Euro 2024, the feeling is Germany’s chances are much higher than before. Nagelsmann has settled on a group and a style of play and will spend the next two years making sure the team transitions smoothly on following the retirement of some its legendary players (Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer for example), and is better equipped for beating top nations.
“It hurts,” said Nagelsmann after the loss to Spain. “As does the fact we have to wait two years before we win the World Cup,” he added with a smile.
Clearly, Nagelsmann is ready. Aleksandar Pavlovic, Brajan Gruda, Rocco Reitz and Alexander Nübel are all contenders to emerge to join an and tight-knit squad.
The extra challenge will be the expanded World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada that awaits them, with 48 teams set to take part across 39 days – 10 days longer than in Qatar and a week longer than the 2018 edition.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
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