Perfect start to the home European Championship year
DFB-Elf defeats Netherlands with dream goal and joker goal
March 26, 2024, 10:38 p.m
The German national soccer team starts the European Championship year with two wins. After the success in France, coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team turns the game against the Netherlands. After an early deficit, a DFB newcomer and a joker score victory in Frankfurt.
Germany is floating completely detached towards the EM. After the coup in France, national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team fueled further euphoria for the home tournament with a 2-1 (1-1) win in the classic against arch-rivals the Netherlands. At the party in pink, Maximilian Mittelstädt turned the game around with his premiere dream goal (11th) and joker Niclas Füllkrug (85th) after falling behind by Joey Veerman (4th). 80 days before the opening game against Scotland, anticipation that would hardly have been possible just a few weeks ago is growing. “I’m proud of the team. They’re coming from a difficult time. We’ve carried the momentum and self-confidence with us,” said Toni Kroos on RTL.
In Frankfurt/Main, Nagelsmann trusted the successful starting lineup from the France game (2-0). “We’re trying to let the first eleven get used to it a bit,” said the 36-year-old, explaining the lack of changes shortly before kick-off on RTL. In contrast to Lyon’s lightning start, this time the shot backfired after a mistake by Mittelstädt. The Stuttgart player’s back pass to Jonathan Tah fell short, Memphis Depay injected in between and, after 193 seconds, served the goalscorer Veerman with great control.
Germany: ter Stegen/FC Barcelona (31 years, 40 international matches) – Kimmich/FC Bayern (29/84) from 79. Henrichs/Leipzig (27/14), Tah/Leverkusen (28/23), Rüdiger/Real Madrid (31/ 68), Mittelstädt/Stuttgart (27/2) from 79. Raum/Leipzig (25/20) – Kroos/Real Madrid (34/108), Andrich/Leverkusen (29/3) from 59. Groß/Brighton & Hove ( 32/3) – Wirtz/Leverkusen (20/16) from 73. Müller/FC Bayern (35/128), Gündoğan/FC Barcelona (33/75) from 59. Führich/Stuttgart (26/3), Musiala/FC Bayern (21/27) – Havertz/Arsenal (24/44) from 73. Füllkrug/Dortmund (31/15); Trainer: Nagelsmann
Netherlands: Verbruggen/Brighton & Hove (21/5) – de Ligt/FC Bayern (24/44), van Dijk/Liverpool (32/66), Ake/Manchester City (29/44) – Dumfries/Inter Milan (27/52 ), Schouten/Eindhoven (27/3) from 75. de Roon/Bergamo (32/42), Veerman/Eindhoven (25/8) from 89. Wieffer/Feyenoord Rotterdam (24/9), Blind/Girona (34/ 106) from 89. Simons/Leipzig (20/13) – Reijnders/AC Milan (25/8) from 66. Timber/Feyenoord Rotterdam (22/1), Malen/Dortmund (25/30) from 75. Gakpo/Liverpool (24/10) – Depay/Atlético Madrid (30/90) from 75. Weghorst/Hoffenheim (31/31); Trainer: Koeman
Referee: Espen Eskaas (Norway)
Gates: 0:1 Veerman (4th), 1:1 Mittelstädt (11th), 2:1 Füllkrug (85th)
Yellow cards: Andrich, Kroos – Blind
Viewers: 48,590 (sold out)
The four-time world champion shook himself briefly in his new pink and purple jerseys – and fought back in a remarkable way. After a short corner, Mittelstädt hit under the crossbar with his strong left foot from 17 meters. The stadium management then played Peter Schilling’s 80s global hit “Major Tom” to the fans’ enthusiasm, and the DFB gave in to the fans’ wishes. At the European Championship, however, UEFA plans to play identical goal jingles from the official European Championship song for all teams.
Gündoğan saves in dire need
The quick equalizer was obviously good for the three-time European champions. The DFB selection was strong in combinations and confident on the ball. Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz exuded enormous enthusiasm despite some problems with their footing on the slippery grass. Musiala served İlkay Gündoğan with great clarity, but the captain was denied by Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen (18th) in his 75th international match.
The fans in Frankfurt had fun. La-Ola circled the arena, which was sold out with 48,590 spectators, early on, Nagelsmann seemed satisfied on the sidelines, even if he called Joshua Kimmich over for readjustment. However, the hosts did not find many gaps in the five-man defense of the 1988 European champions. In the defensive midfield, Tono Kroos once again set the pace with confidence on the ball, a kind of quarterback who was always able to free himself from Tijjani Reijnders’ man-marking.
In France, the DFB offensive had a lot more space, this time striker Kai Havertz was a bit in the air. The guests kept putting pinpricks offensively. After a free kick, Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt headed Dortmund’s Donyell Malen, and Gündoğan saved in dire need (33′).
Ter Stegen lets painting down
Even after the change, the DFB team found it difficult to get going. Antonio Rüdiger just cleared it in front of Depay and then scolded Mittelstädt, who seemed disorientated at times (49′). Marc-André ter Stegen had no problems with Malen’s powerful shot (50th). The stability of the German team was put to the test in this phase. A free kick from ex-Munich player Daley Blind from a good position flew over the goal (54th). However, the Dutch now had more possession of the ball and found some space on Mittelstädt’s left defense.
Nagelsmann responded after almost an hour with a double substitution. Chris Führich and Pascal Groß replaced Gündoğan and Andrich, but Depay had the next big chance (61′). Later, Thomas Müller and Füllkrug also had their chance, Wirtz and Havertz left the pitch. Musiala (76′) and Müller (83′) were then denied by Verbruggen’s strong reaction – then Füllkrug celebrated his eleventh goal in his 15th international match after a corner from Kroos.
Before kick-off, a minute’s silence was held in honor of the deceased world champions Franz Beckenbauer and Andreas Brehme. Rudi Völler was particularly touched by this. Shortly beforehand, the DFB sports director had promised the fans over the stadium microphone: “We want to take the momentum with us and build on it.”