Germany Euro 2024 lineup: Who does Julian Nagelsmann choose for the dream of winning on home turf?

The three-time champions have faced some disappointments in major tournaments in recent years and are looking to reverse the situation at home. Germany has had a few difficult years. Elimination from the World Cup group stages was followed by a loss in the round of 16 against England at Euro 2020, and fans head into Euro 2024 with more hope than expectation that the hosts will go far.

Joachim Low and Hansi Flick both paid the price for the team’s poor performance with their jobs, and Julian Nagelsmann’s reign also had a difficult start with losses to Turkey and Austria. But things have changed since then, with Toni Kroos returning to play after retiring from international duty, resulting in memorable friendly victories against France and the Netherlands. Suddenly, things are looking up.

Although they will have the backing of home fans this summer, group stage matches against Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland are by no means easy for Nagelsmann’s team, and the former Bayern Munich has made moves to give himself more options when the tournament takes place.

Southgate confirmed his 26-man squad on June 7, but who did he choose and who was left out?

Goalkeepers

For over a decade, Manuel Neuer has been considered Germany’s number 1 for major tournaments, but after the veteran Bayern Munich’s foot injury threatened his career post-World Cup 2022, Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to sit out. have a chance to step up and perform well.

Since Neuer’s return, Nagelsmann has not committed to choosing a goalkeeper for the Euros, but ultimately confirmed that the 38-year-old is his number 1.

3 goalkeepers include: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)

Defenders

A fair criticism of Germany’s recent struggles in tournaments is their inability to score reliably, but this is also not a tight-fisted defense.

There is certainly some experience to be drawn from Antonio Rudiger at center-back and Joshua Kimmich at right-back, but Nagelsmann’s absence of Mats Hummels means he will not be able to rely on one of Europe’s best-performing veterans.

In Hummels’ position, Jonathan Tah should partner with Rudiger – and so he has after a series of top performances with Bayer Leverkusen.

9 defenders include: Waldemar Anton (Stuttgart), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Max Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders

The decision to retire from international duty by Kroos naturally drew attention in Germany. The Real Madrid star is in his best form for Los Blancos this season, with countless brilliant performances to control a noisy team, and will certainly start this summer.

Currently, it seems that Robert Andrich of Leverkusen will join Kroos in Germany’s midfield. Meanwhile, ahead, Ilkay Gundogan will play in one of the higher roles, possibly alongside Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala standout and Leverkusen.

However, Bayern’s young player, Aleksandar Pavlovic may have to play after being called up for the first time for a friendly match in March before withdrawing due to injury.

8 midfielders include: Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Fuhrich (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Brighton), Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards

Germany has lacked a truly world-class number 9 for many years, and the responsibility for leading the attack could fall on Niclas Fullkrug at the Euros, as the Dortmund player is preferred over Thomas Muller in recent matches. (although Muller is in the squad).

Kai Havertz could cause controversy as his performance for Arsenal recently improved. However, his best position is still being debated and Nagelsmann may prefer a natural forward in the middle.

6 forwards include: Maximilian Beier (Hoffenheim), Niclas Fullkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart)

Expected lineup with the 4-2-3-1 formation:

Nagelsmann has yet to find his best lineup. He used a three-back formation in the match against Austria in November, before switching to a scheme similar to Red Bull’s 4-2-2-2 in the loss to Turkey.

However, in March, the 4-2-3-1 formation proved extremely effective, with Kroos and Andrich forming an interesting double pivot, opening up space for the exciting attacking trio to run wild behind Fullkrug. That’s likely Nagelsmann’s first choice lineup in June.

Expected Germany lineup (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Kimmich, Tah, Rudiger, Raum; Kroos, Andrich; Musiala, Gundogan, Wirtz; Fullkrug.

Germany’s EURO 2024 Group A schedule:

June 15: Germany vs Scotland (2:00 at Allianz Arena, Munich)

June 19: Germany vs Hungary (23:00 at MHPA Arena, Stuttgart)

June 24: Switzerland vs Germany (2:00 at Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt)

⚽️ UEFA Euro 1960 to 2021 with 16 tournaments and 10 national champions

⏩ Germany won the Euro 3 times (1972 – 1980 – 1996)

⏩ Spain won the Euro 3 times (1964 – 2008 – 2012)

⏩ France won the Euro 2 times (1984 – 2000)

⏩ Italy won the Euro 2 times (1968 – 2020)

⏩ Soviet Union won the Euro once in 1960

⏩ Czechoslovakia won the Euro once in 1976

⏩ Netherlands won the Euro once in 1988

⏩ Denmark won the Euro once in 1992

⏩ Greece won the Euro once in 2004

⏩ Portugal won the Euro once in 2016

With the participation of the strongest European teams according to the FIFA ranking on February 15, 2024 such as France (2nd) – England (3rd) – Belgium (4th) – Netherlands (6th) – Portugal (7th) – Spain (8th) – Italy (9th) – Croatia (10th) and bright stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku to promising young talents, Euro 2024 promises to deliver top-level and dramatic matches.

EURO 2024 will take place in Germany from June 14 to July 14, 2024 in 10 cities in Germany with 24 participating teams. The teams are divided into 6 groups to select the first and second teams in each group, and the 4 third-placed teams with the best performance to get a ticket to the knock-out round. The opening match is scheduled for June 14 between host Germany and Scotland.

⚽️ Detailed EURO 2024 match groups:

⚽️ Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland

⚽️ Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania

⚽️ Group C: England, Denmark, Serbia, Slovenia

⚽️ Group D: Poland, France, Netherlands, Austria

⚽️ Group E: Slovakia, Romania, Belgium, Ukraine

⚽️ Group F: Portugal, Turkey, Czech Republic, Georgia