After the soggy encounter against Slovakia the previous Sunday, the weather is considerably brighter at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, and there is a more solid and established look to the German team too. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is back and with
The Final Cut
So there we have it. The final squad of twenty-three for the Euros has been named, with injury heartbreak for Karim Bellarabi and more pain for Marco Reus – a player who just cannot get a break when it comes
Germany beaten by Slovakia and the weather in wet and soggy Augsburg
As expected, there is an experimental look to the starting eleven for the first of the Mannschaft’s final two pre-Euros warm-up matches against fellow tournament finalists Slovakia in Augsburg. It is Germany’s first meeting against the Repre for almost a
Down to twenty-seven, with some new faces
This afternoon Nationaltrainer Joachim Löw trimmed his provisional rump squad for next month’s Euro 2016 finals down to twenty-seven, with a number of new faces in the mix. As the final preparations begin with home friendlies against fellow tournament finalists
Germany v Italy: Match Analysis and Player Ratings
The 3-2 defeat against England in Berlin had been “annoying” for Nationaltrainer Joachim Löw, and the second prestige friendly in the space of four days against bogey team Italy was pretty much a must-win – if just to boost confidence
Gala Display in Munich as Die Mannschaft thrash lethargic Italy
After Saturday’s turnaround defeat against England, all eyes are on the German team as they take on old rivals and fellow four-time World Cup winners Italy at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Despite it being a friendly, the home side
From bogey ground to bogey team
It’s time to forget about the “annoying” 3-2 defeat against England, and the continuation of the Berlin hoodoo that saw Germany extend their winless record against the Three Lions at the famous old Olympiastadion. In another prestige friendly (or is
Germany v England: Match Analysis and Player Ratings
After the long winter break it was finally time for the international programme to start up again in earnest, with the DFB arranging a pair of exciting prestige friendlies against two old rivals, England and Italy. With less than three
Thirty-one, and counting down…
The first month of 2016 is almost over, and there are less than five months before this year’s European Championship finals start in France. After a topsy-turvy and at times painful qualifying campaign, Joachim Löw’s Mannschaft booked their place at
Defeat in Paris for the Mannschaft, but a bigger defeat for humanity
Usually I release the minute by minute match report a few hours after the end of the match. Barring a few edits and typo corrections, it is usually ready to go. Things were a little different after the game in
Closing out the year
After a strange 2015 that saw the Nationalmannschaft clinch their place in next year’s European Championship finals on the last day of their qualifying campaign, they close out the year with two prestige friendlies. First up are Euro 2016 hosts
Profligate Germany get over the line against stubborn Georgia
When the draw for this qualifying group was made back in 2014, nobody would have thought it would come to this. On the tenth and final match day, World Champions Germany are still not sure of an automatic place in