Before the European Championship draw: German title optimism in the basement

EURO 2024 - Before the European Championship draw: German title optimism in the basement

A blue European Championship banner hinted at the gala evening that was so important for Julian Nagelsmann.

Before the group draw this Saturday (18:00/ZDF/RTL/Magenta), however, the numerous tourists at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg were apparently more interested in the Landungsbrücken bathed in sunshine than in the impending European Championship super group for the national soccer team, which is hardly trusted to do anything after the recent disappointments. Even Rudi Völler' s praise of Nagelsmann as the "perfect" national coach does not help.

According to a representative survey, only a mini-minority believe in the European Championship title at the home tournament next summer (June 14 to July 14) - regardless of whether the DFB team plays against Italy, the Netherlands and Austria in the preliminary round or against Albania, Slovenia and a weak qualifier. Nagelsmann and Völler will be among the 800 guests at the draw in the evening in the magnificent building on the Elbe, and to get them in the mood they will watch the U17 World Cup final between the DFB Juniors and France together at midday.

Völler: "The truth will come in the summer"

The national coach will bring about a turnaround in the coming months with "his speech, with his gift for getting players on his side", Völler assured at a sponsor meeting in Hamburg. It is important to find the right mix in the team in the run-up to the European Championship. "The truth will come in the summer," said Völler. The former DFB team boss said that the force of public opinion must be endured until then.

The Hamburg celebrations with Germany as the A1 seeded hosts, star tenor Jonas Kaufmann and star violinist David Garrett briefly distracted from the November doldrums caused by the defeats against Turkey (2:3) and Austria (0:2), which is precisely why Völler wants one of them in the group. After the "great public gloating", this would be an opportunity to set the record straight, he said. The DFB team will not play any matches to make amends until March. Until then, it will be difficult to get into the right mood for the European Championship.

Only two percent of respondents believe in a European Championship title

In the survey conducted by opinion research institute YouGov for Deutsche Presse-Agentur, a quarter of respondents predicted that the DFB team would once again massively disappoint and be knocked out in the group stage - as was the case at the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments. 16% see the national team failing in the last 16 of the European Championship, as in 2021. 15 percent believe they will reach the quarter-finals and eight percent believe they will reach the semi-finals. Two percent believe in the title.

Nagelsmann seems to be aware of the emotional situation, and the national coach exercised restraint before the draw gala. "Ideally" he would have to deal with the top nations France, England, Spain, Portugal and Belgium later in the tournament, who are out of the question as group opponents. "But there's still a long way to go," said the successor to the hapless Hansi Flick.

A year ago, on December 1, 2022, Flick and the national team crashed out of the preliminary round in Qatar despite beating Costa Rica 4-2. The fact that the 58-year-old was nevertheless allowed to stay until September can be written into DFB boss Bernd Neuendorf's presidential book as a mistake. Between the two defeats in mid-November, the 62-year-old surprised everyone by setting the DFB team a target for the final. Neuendorf said that was the aim at a home European Championship.

Nagelsmann: "There are no easy opponents anyway"

Völler reported that he is convinced that the DFB team "does not have to hide" from the European competition, even if France is "the measure of all things". Based on the experience of the sluggish past few months, the 63-year-old criticized: "Optimism and confidence are not among our top strengths."

The result of the opening match on June 14 in Munich will have a decisive influence on the mood and expectations in six months' time. The opponent in the draw procedure will be the national team "A2", which can come from all three pots. The opener against defending champions Italy is possible. "The charm of a draw is that you draw lots. So you don't have your luck in your own hands, and there are no easy opponents anyway," Nagelsmann told dpa.

The DFB team's group games in Stuttgart (June 19) and Frankfurt/Main (June 24) will follow at the tournament. There is still "a lot of work ahead of us here and now" on the way there, said Nagelsmann. Two test matches are initially planned for March - reportedly against the Netherlands and in France. However, should the Netherlands actually be drawn against Nagelsmann's team, another opponent would have to be found. After the end of the Bundesliga season, two more games are planned, then with the tournament squad, which should at best write a kind of second summer fairytale.