'Shattered' Germany set sights on WC after Euros exit
Published : Sunday, 7 July, 2024 at 12:00 AM Count : 250
STUTTGART, JULY 6: The hosts may have bowed out of Euro 2024 at the quarter-finals on home soil, but Julian Nagelsmann has given Germany their swagger back after a difficult decade.
Germany came into Euro 2024 after two World Cup group stage exits either side of a meek last 16 loss to England.
But while Fridays extra-time loss to Spain in Stuttgart denied the hosts a chance to celebrate the retiring Toni Kroos with one of the few titles to elude him, the Germans demonstrated they can again mix it with the best.
Germany veteran Manuel Neuer wrote on social media "the dream has been shattered. Its even more bitter, because the team deserved more".
Having spoken through tears pitch side after the game, Nagelsmann sought to shift Germanys focus to the future in the post-match press conference.
"Its sad that Ill probably never be a part of a home Euros in my career again," the coach said. "That hurts. And having to wait two years to become world champions, that hurts as well." "You like that statement, don you?" the coach asked reporters, "it makes your eyes pop, its crazy. "What else should I say after we were knocked out? Of course, we want to become world champions."
Nagelsmanns bullish statements are a far cry from those of his predecessor Hansi Flick after Germanys group stage Qatar World Cup exit.
Flick, who later became the first coach sacked in Germany history, pointed to fundamental problems and called out the countrys junior system for failing to produce top players.
After convincing Kroos to return, Nagelsmann swept the broom through Germanys squad, making 11 changes with the Euros in mind.
Several new additions including Robert Andrich and Maximilian Mittelstaedt established themselves in Germanys starting XI, while the coach also found a way to properly play Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz alongside each other.
Germany won just three of 11 games in 2023. Fridays loss to Spain -- with La Roja scoring in the 119th minute -- was Germanys first defeat in 2024, after six wins and two draws.
Kroos, who retired from international football in 2021, was asked by Nagelsmann to return before Euro 2024 and only agreed to come back if he felt Germany had a true shot at winning the tournament. —AFP
