Germany, King Of The Euro Falls, Prepares To Pursue A Title

Niclas Fuellkrug, celebrates happiness after the draw against Switzerland (photo: eufa.com)

JAKARTA - Germany's outstanding record in the knockout stages of the 2024 European Cup entered a new chapter at Dortmund on Saturday, June 29 as Denmark became a barrier to "Die Mannschaft", their nickname in the country, to achieving more glory in the tournament.

Dari 10 kali Jerman lolos dari babak grup di Euro, mereka berhasil mencapai semifinal sebanyak sembilan kali dan final enam kali. Mereka sama dengan Spanyol dengan raihan tiga gelar.

Germany is also proud to have the only person to win the tournament as a player and coach, Maria Vogts, who made it in 1972 and as a manager in 1996, beating the Czech Republic 2-1 after extra time at Wembley.

Namun, kemenangan itu, hampir 28 tahun yang lalu tepatnya, tetap menjadi kali terakhir Jerman mengangkat trofi Henri Delaunay, namun bahkan jika pelatih Jerman Julian Nagelsmann tidak membawa pulang piala, pekerjaan kemungkinan akan tetap aman.

"Our commitment to Julian Nagelsmann will not change at all, even if we are eliminated in the round of 16. Not all eliminations are equal to us, performance is very important," Andreas Rettig, management director of the German Football Federation (DFB), told an online news media.

West Germany, like they were at the time, did not participate in the first tournaments in 1960 and 1964, and when they decided to participate, they did not qualify for the finals in Italy in 1968.

However, the failure was brief, and they managed to reach the finals in the next three tournaments, winning in 1972 and 1980 but losing to Czechoslovakia in 1976.

Their failures in the group stage only occurred in 1984, 2000, and 2004, and defeats in the last 16 in 2020 along with another failure in the 2022 World Cup group stage in Qatar had lowered expectations before this tournament.

A 5-1 win over Scotland and a dramatic score-scoring goal against Switzerland saw them qualify as winners of Group A, and they were ready to face Denmark in the round of 16, lit up fans' hopes of a long journey through this competition.

"If you want to be European champions, you have to beat the really good," said striker Niclas Fuellkrug after a draw against Switzerland. "I think we have shown what we are capable of in this tournament."