It was ten years ago that Germany won the World Cup through Mario Götze’s extra-time strike against Argentina. In their Euro 2024 squad, there remains just three players from that team: Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller. Neuer is 38 years old, Kroos and Müller are four years younger, yet these will be the last professional football games that Toni Kroos will play, as he looks to wrap up his career with a fairytale-like story.
‘Die Mannschaft’ have been unable to reach such extreme highs since that World Cup victory. Following a semi-final showdown against Deschamps’ France at Euro 2016, they finished in last place in Group F at the 2018 World Cup, despite being in one of the weakest groups of the tournament. Germany’s only victory was against group leaders Sweden, through a wonderful Toni Kroos strike in additional time.
They weren’t able to go any further than the round of 16 at Euro 2020, as they were knocked out by eventual finalists England. Disappointment was so strong that Joachim Löw called an end to his 15-year tenure as manager of ‘Die Mannschaft’. Toni Kroos also stated that he would retire from international duty.
In those rough times, the DFB turned to a familiar face. Hansi Flick, who was Löw’s understudy at the 2014 World Cup, made the switch from Bayern Münich to manage the national side. Flick was also unable to stop the bleeding though, as his side crashed out in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, finishing 3rd behind Japan and Spain.
The team was followed closely by Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing’ crew through their run-in and during the tournament. Later the documentary’s release would reveal that both players and staff were subject to overwhelming political tensions caused by the controversy around the human right violations in Qatar and whether should Germany boycott the tournament. It was also evident that Flick and the players weren’t on best terms. After the failure at the World Cup, Flick became the first coach in the DFB’s history to be sacked.
After the heartbreaks and underwhelming performances of recent years, Euro 2024 holds the perfect opportunity for Germany to redeem their place as one of the best in the world, as they look to host the tournament under the management of the young and brilliant Julian Nagelsmann.
‘Die Mannschaft’ as Hosts
1988 was the last time that Germany hosted the Euros and it’s been 18 years since they hosted the 2006 World Cup. On both occasions, Die Mannschaft was eliminated at the semi-final stage of the tournament by the eventual champions.
In 1988, the brilliant Marco Van Basten proved too much for West Germany, as he won a penalty for Ronald Koeman to convert and provided the winner himself in the dying minutes of the game.
In 2006 they were again the victim of an extremely late rally; as Italy broke the deadlock in the 119th minute through Fabio Grosso’s brilliantly placed shot. Just two minutes later, the hosts were hit with a precise counter-attack while searching for an equaliser, and Alessandro Del Piero was the man to make it 2-0 for the visitors.
Nagelsmann’s Tenure So Far
Since Nagelsmann’s appointment following Flick’s departure in September 2023, Germany have played two sets of two friendly games. In the first set they were defeated by considerably weaker sides, as they lost to Turkey and Austria. After this discouraging start, the second set of friendlies offered some encouragement, as they completely outplayed a seemingly disinterested French side and managed a comeback win against the Netherlands.
The game against France also marked the return of Toni Kroos. Nagelsmann seemed to have convinced the 34 year-old midfielder to lace up his boots again for the national side, with Kroos named in the starting line-up immediately for both contests.
Kroos’ return is extremely valuable for ‘Die Mannschaft’ as he provides a unique skill-set for the side. But another aspect of this return, probably as crucial as Kroos’ skillset, is Nagelsmann’s ability to win over a player of that stature; Nagelsmann drew constant criticism at Bayern for his reported inability to rally the dressing room. At the start of his Germany tenure he gave signs of excelling at man-management, which German football has clearly missed for some time.
v France in Lyon
As they went in front at the very start of the game, the contest immediately turned into a test of Germany’s ability to control a game and maintain a lead, which was conducted expertly.
İlkay Gündoğan pushed up near to Kai Havertz to effectively turn Germany’s defensive shape into a 4-2-2-2, in a bid to disrupt France’s deep build-up. Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz offered help to crowd both wide and central positions.
The centre-back trio of Jules Koundé, Benjamin Pavard and Dayot Upamecano weren’t necessarily under immense pressure from Germany’s press, yet Nagelsmann’s men were able to successfully crowd France’s receivers in advanced positions and held most of the ball throughout the game.
As they had numerous chances to build from deep, Germany’s fullbacks pushed forward out wide to stretch France’s press. The debutant Maximilian Mittelstadt was used in an advanced area of the pitch, as he was given the freedom to push forward by Toni Kroos. In the same role that he’s been playing for Real Madrid for years, Kroos dropped behind the left sided full-back to help Antonio Rüdiger and Jonathan Tah when building from deep, while Wirtz was pushed into more central positions by Mittelstadt. Robert Andrich acted as the singular pivot in front of the 3-man line.
While pushing into advanced positions, Mittelstadt dragged Ousmane Dembele inside, leaving the winger unable to help France’s advanced defensive line while pressing. This meant the required support came from the midfield line, which played right into the hands of Nagelsmann.
When the deeper players of France jumped forward to disrupt Germany’s play, opportunities for Germany’s brilliant attackers started to occur. As they were given the chance to play in the space where they excel, Gündoğan, Musiala, Wirtz and Havertz did an excellent job of receiving and turning to play decisive passes or dribbles.
This same set of players discouraged France from counter-pressing. When Germany won the ball in their half, the threat in transition they possess was used as a decoy to drag the French defence back.
With a maturity not expected from players their age, Musiala and Wirtz showcased their decision-making expertise in transition. On several occasions they halted their counter-attack before getting overwhelmed by on-rushing French defenders, giving their side the chance to build up from deep without much pressure. On others, they capitalised on the opportunity and this led to Germany’s second goal on the night.
As soon as Wirtz picks up the ball and gathers, Musiala makes an immediate run into the space between the full-back and left centre back.
Lucas Hernandez is late to recognize Musiala’s run and Wirtz plays the perfect lob pass behind the defensive line.
Musiala showcased brilliant composure and technique, rounded Brice Samba and cut the ball back for Havertz surging forward to finish into an open net.
Wirtz also could have chosen to switch play as Musiala’s run scattered the defensive line and Joshua Kimmich can be seen in acres of space on the right hand side.
Kimmich’s ability to play both wide and central was used to perfection, as the full-back was seen in central positions numerous times to offer more control.
Throughout the game, Germany were able to limit France’s offence to a bare minimum, and they carried their two goal lead until the end without much threat.
v Netherlands in Frankfurt
In striking contrast to their contest against France, Nagelsmann’s men found themselves trailing inside the first three minutes. Mittelstadt’s misplaced back-pass was picked up by the Netherlands’ striker Memphis Depay, then his cross was met with brilliant technique by Joey Veerman and fired into Germany’s goal.
Once again, a standard friendly game was turned into a very serious test in a different form. As the Netherlands possess arguably the best set of defenders on the continent in Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, Bayern’s Mathijs de Ligt, Manchester City’s Nathan Aké and Internazionale’s Denzel Dumfries; it asked the question of whether Germany could fight back after going down against such defensive organisation. The answer didn’t take long at all.
Germany were again able to score through impressive shooting at the end of an offensive set play, straight out of the training ground. A clever corner kick routine saw Kroos, Wirtz and Musiala combine to give Mittelstadt a chance to redeem himself for his mistake, which he capitalised on perfectly with a brilliant effort from outside of the box.
After the equaliser, in order to take control of the game, Germany adopted a more aggressive press compared to the contest against France. As they pushed forward, they opened up more space and therefore opportunities revealed themselves for the Netherlands.
The Netherlands used their four defenders to build from deep, which forced the German full-backs to advance to try and disrupt Aké and Dumfries from advancing the ball freely. As Germany’s central midfielders were given the duty of restricting their counterparts from participating in the build-up, the centre of the pitch opened up for Netherlands’ forwards to drop into. Memphis Depay recognised the situation and acted accordingly.
The German centre-backs’ hesitation to follow the runs of Depay resulted in unrestricted progression for the Netherlands.
Yet Germany started to recognise the threat of Depay’s movement into deeper positions. As their preferred centre-back pairing is one of the best, if not the best, athletically, they were able to adjust. From that point on, the duo of Rüdiger and Tah combined perfectly to nullify the threat that Depay and the Netherlands carried in offensive scenarios.
In the wake of that adjustment, Germany offered next to nothing for the Netherlands to capitalise upon. They were also able to find the winner through another set-piece, which was met by Niclas Füllkrug’s header.
Path to the Final
The hosts are drawn in Group A, a considerably weaker group, which they are expected to lead ahead of Switzerland, Hungary and Scotland.
Group A is matched with Group C, another weaker group with clear favourites, England. While an unwanted draw will mean an untimely exit for one of the giants of European football, it could also result in a favourable second round draw, as England shares Group C with Denmark, Serbia and Slovenia.
If they win their group and go past the second round, they will play the winner of the contest between Group B’s winner and the best-performing third-placed team of the group stage in the quarter-finals. Group B is a ‘Group if Death’, consisting of Spain, Italy, Croatia and Albania.
A final against France is possible, as the teams stand in opposite sides of the bracket.
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