The German national soccer team needs a sense of achievement today (6 p.m., live ticker) in Munich to send the farewell tour of their long-term national coach Joachim Löw into extra time. Another defeat in this “hammer group F” would reduce the chances of promotion to a minimum. After the 0: 1 against world champions France, the reigning European champions Portugal stood in the way this time – and with them the star ensemble around Cristiano Ronaldo, who shot out a 3-0 win against Hungary with a strong finish.
Motivation boost from outside
“We have to trust ourselves more, we lacked the courage against the French,” admitted Kai Havertz. The Chelsea legionnaire and his German teammates are still convinced that they are navigating the ship in the right direction, i.e. into the round of 16. An “encourager” appeared in training on Thursday. The two-time Olympic track cycling champion Kristina Vogel, who has been paraplegic since a serious accident three years ago, works as a motivational coach and has encouraging donations. “She is a great personality and a great fighter,” said DFB goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
A draw could play into the cards for both teams. Portugal would then go on, the Germans would create an acceptable starting position – of course only on the condition that they play in the “group final” against outsider Hungary, who will play against France in the Budapest National Stadium today (3 p.m., ORF 1 and nachrichten.at), score fully. DFB defender Matthias Ginter does not want to get involved in such games: “We were certainly disappointed after the defeat at the beginning. But now we have that now-all-right feeling. We’ll go out there and play to win. ”However, not free from personnel worries: Leon Goretzka and Lukas Klostermann are injured, Jonas Hofmann is questionable because of a knee injury.
The statistics speak for the Germans, who won five of the ten duels with Portugal and only lost two. Most recently there were four DFB victories en suite – including a 4-0 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. That was seven years ago, which is why the Iberians don’t even want to bother with such numbers. Ronaldo, the record scorer in the EURO with eleven goals, is in the mood for more after his “double” in Budapest. “We have a very talented team that will be hard to beat.” (Alex)
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
