EM 2024: Germany against Switzerland – and a black eye

TV review

Third group match, the opponent was Switzerland, the German team had already secured qualification for the round of 16 before kick-off. One reason why everything on ARD sounded like an interim report? ARD went on air with the preliminary coverage at 7.15 p.m. Esther Sedlaczek and Bastian Schweinsteiger were on duty together once again. Without a World Cup studio with the appropriate guests and interaction, it can get quite long.

“Schland in Sicht” is the motto of the preview, a kind of water, sorry, beer report after ten days of the European Championship. It is almost too early to draw a conclusion before the end of the group phase, but there seems to be no other way. Happy fans have to be shown again and again, the second summer fairytale has to manifest itself at all costs.

Germany wants its European Championship summer fairytale at all costs

Good beer, a nice Mettbrötchen, Dschörmany is wonderful, so say the fans. Resistance is futile. Criticism too – “Germany complainers, just shut up,” said Bild. That’s what the German celebration imperative sounds like.

Tournament director Philipp Lahm was a little more matter-of-fact, admitting that “some things have been missed in recent years” in terms of transport, but that the tournament was going well and as far as the favorites were concerned, he was “very optimistic” with regard to Germany.

The topic of euphoria was also discussed in the preliminary conversation with national coach Julian Nagelsmann. Esther Sedlaczek wanted to know what motto he had given his team internally this time. Nagelsmann was somewhat grumpy, but hit the nail on the head and preferred to keep it to himself: one shouldn’t “make a headline out of every little thing”.

The headlines mentioned would certainly look different today if Nico Füllkrug had not sunk this first-class header into the goal of the robust Swiss shortly after the final whistle. Commentator Gerd Gottlob spoke of the “first little crisis” during the game, saying that “there is always something wrong”. His colleague Thomas Hitzlsperger struck the same note. “Not sufficient, not good enough,” said Hitz the Hammer, but immediately switched to resilience mode. “Perhaps that is exactly what the team needed,” was his theory.

Füllkrug is not used to the joker role

The interviews that followed revealed a pleasantly heterogeneous mix. While Toni Kroos seemed almost mischievously and demonstratively satisfied, captain Ilkay Gündogan sounded a little more self-critical. Niclas Füllkrug was also matter-of-fact, noting that he was not used to playing as a joker, but that they all “worked well”.

At the very end, Julian Nagelsmann once again answered questions from the Sedlaczek/Schweinsteiger tandem. He had seen a better game than against Hungary and was extremely pragmatic “with a view to the next few weeks”: “I’d rather have a 1:1 than a 4:0!” With that, he went to get a “kiss” from his sweetheart, as Bastian Schweinsteiger put it. He, in turn, seemed ready for bed late in the evening – after he had received a Kicker rating of 3 from Esther Sedlaczek for a heel trick, among other things, and his 2:2 tip was actually pretty good. It was a long day for everyone. One that ended with a late happy ending. As Gerd Gottlob so aptly put it: “Got away with a black eye.” Next Saturday, things should have subsided better. That’s when the round of 16 is coming up.