Germany want to deliver fun football on home soil

BERLIN – With their last major title coming 10 years ago, hosts Germany will go into Euro 2024 hoping for a deep run that will captivate the home supporters and help restore their reputation.

The three-time European champions are in a relatively easy Group A, but Scotland could pose a challenge.

Now that coach Steve Clarke has masterminded back-to-back European Championship appearances for the Scots for the first time since 1996, he will aim to go one step further and take them into the knockout stage.

Hungary could be dark horses, having stormed through qualifying unbeaten.

The same cannot be said for Switzerland, who will have to bank on their track record of consistency at major tournaments following a below-par qualifying campaign.

Germany out to turn the tide

The Germans were world champions in 2014 for the fourth time but have since failed to make any impact.

They crashed out of both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in the group phase, and while they did make the Euro 2016 semi-finals, they were eliminated from the pandemic-delayed continental tournament three years ago in the last 16.

When Julian Nagelsmann took over from Hansi Flick in September 2023, Die Mannschaft were already under pressure for immediate improvement.

A disastrous 2022 World Cup campaign was followed by a string of bad results, including a 4-1 friendly demolition by Japan. Flick’s departure was hastened by the prospect of failing at Euro 2024 in front of a home crowd.

Nagelsmann suffered a rough start, with only one win from his first four matches in charge.

In March, however, victories over France (2-0) and the Netherlands (2-1) in friendlies triggered a rise in expectations and the coach wants to entertain fans this summer.

“I want my team to be exciting,” he said.

“We will try to win the title. We also want to show football that’s fun. Tickets cost money. You have to pay back with a football that is fun, that is entertaining. If we are excited, we will excite the fans.”

The coach will count on an efficient Bayer Leverkusen block with defender Jonathan Tah, midfielder Robert Andrich and attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz is an integral part of Nagelsmann’s “three magicians” midfield, alongside Jamal Musiala and Ilkay Gundogan.

The return of the experienced Toni Kroos, who recently retired from club football with Real Madrid after winning his sixth Champions League – also improved the team’s spirits. The 34-year-old, who will hang up his boots for good after this tournament, will be aiming to go out on a high.

Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, in a fullback role, and an in-form Nico Schlotterbeck bolster the backline, while the latter’s Borussia Dortmund teammate Niclas Fullkrug is expected to lead their attack.

Knockout stage the Scots’ aim

Germany will kick off the tournament on June 14 against Scotland, who have never made it out of the group stage in 11 major tournaments appearances.

Fans are hopeful of a historic run this time out, though, as the Scots were terrific in qualifying, losing only once to group winners Spain and reaching the Finals with two games to spare.

With Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay and Liverpool defender Andy Robertson as his key men, Clarke expressed his side’s determination to reach uncharted territory.

“You have to get everything right. And that’s what Scotland teams haven’t been able to do in the past,” he said. “Hopefully, we can be the first squad to do it.”

McTominay, whose seven goals in qualifying was just one fewer than England’s Harry Kane, will be one of the influential figures in the dressing room, along with Robertson and Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn.

Hungary could surprise

With Italian coach Marco Rossi at the helm, Hungary are set for their third successive Euro.

They were unbeaten in qualifying, recording impressive home-and-away victories over Serbia in the process.

Ferencvaros forward Barnabas Varga and Liverpool’s midfield dynamo Dominik Szoboszlai were the team’s joint leading scorers with four goals each and will be crucial to their hopes of reaching the last 16, as they did in France in 2016.

Hungary have a storied history, with the golden era of the “Magical Magyars” delivering Olympic gold in 1952 and a runners-up finish at the 1954 World Cup. They also reached the World Cup final in 1938.

There was more Olympic success in 1964 and 1968 but Hungary have since struggled to live up to the past.

Now, Rossi feels his side are ready to write their own history in Germany.

“We have managed to get the football fans back on our side,” he said.

“We managed to bring enthusiasm back to Hungary and that is a great legacy that we will leave to those who come in the future.”

Switzerland the underdogs

Switzerland, coached by Murat Yakin, have a reputation for finding a way to perform creditably at major tournaments, unburdened by the pressure that star-studded teams face to reach the late stages.

They reached the quarter-finals of the delayed Euro 2020 by knocking out world champions France in a penalty shoot-out, after recovering from 3-1 down with nine minutes remaining.

But to get out of Group A, the Swiss will have to rediscover the momentum they had early in qualifying before uninspired performances caused captain Granit Xhaka to criticise the squad for a lack of intensity in training.

In a qualifying group with weaker sides such as Israel, Kosovo and Belarus, they finished second behind Romania. The Swiss recorded four wins, five draws and a loss.

“We didn’t live up to expectations, especially in attack where we didn’t convert our chances,” Yakin said.
REUTERS