The countdown to the German national football team’s second European Championship match has begun. The match against Hungary kicks off in Stuttgart at 6 p.m. It’s hard to miss in the host city: traffic chaos in Stuttgart.
Even hours before the game, the streets and train stations are already clogged – also because of numerous construction sites. Sirens all day. Lots of police. Lots of traffic. Many people are very annoyed. Fan march, construction sites and rush hour traffic, a cordoned off city center because of the fan mile – a difficult mix. Many people are switching to e-scooters and the S-Bahn.
12:10 p.m.: Turkish car parade – lots of noise in front of the DFB hotel
According to Bild, there was a lot of noise around the German team hotel, the Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin, during the night. Turkish fans and a few Portuguese supporters brought the entire city traffic to a standstill with an hour-long car convoy after the Turkey-Georgia match (3:1) at around 8:30 p.m., and then honked their horns all evening through the city center. The noise could still be heard right next to the team hotel after 11 p.m.
In many places – like here in Berlin – Turkish fans celebrated the 3-1 victory over Georgia
Source: dpa/Christoph Soeder
The Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin is located near the main train station. The reason for the somewhat strange choice of hotel, which actually doesn’t fit in with DFB habits at all, is that the national team had no choice, as UEFA dictates the choice of hotels in the European Championship venues. The entourage actually wanted to go to the “Waldhotel” just outside of the south of Stuttgart for the game. But as the third group opponent, Switzerland, chose the Waldhotel as their team quarters for the entire European Championship, the plan was scrapped. There was good news, though. According to “Bild” information, the soundproofing of the building is good, and the players were able to sleep well.
10:59 a.m.: Kimmich defends himself against ego accusation
DFB star Kimmich (29 years old) defends himself against the long-standing accusations that the generation of players around him, Leon Goretzka (29), Leroy Sané (28) and Serge Gnabry (28) are difficult to deal with.
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In an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, Kimmich said: “I don’t think we are a generation of egoists. Quite the opposite, in fact, as I am currently experiencing!” And he continued: “When I started at Bayern nine years ago, there were a lot more big egos in the dressing room than there are now, including with the national team after the 2014 World Cup.”
Joshua Kimmich
Source: Getty Images/Alexander Hassenstein
Last autumn, the “kicker” newspaper, among others, fuelled the ego accusations and questioned Kimmich’s self-image as a central midfielder. He played as a number six for Bayern and as a right-back in the DFB team under national coach Julian Nagelsmann.
In the interview, Kimmich also revealed what Nagelsmann did before the opening match against Scotland to motivate the team. “The coach showed us a short video from downtown Munich, of Scots and Germans singing together. The euphoria of the fans was totally motivating for us, but it was also nice to see how people celebrated together.” At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the then national coach Hansi Flick used videos of grey geese to motivate. This caused controversial discussions after the early elimination.
9:35 a.m.: Matthäus calls on FC Bayern to sign Wirtz
Lothar Matthäus is calling on FC Bayern to make a concerted effort to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. At the same time, the Munich team should extend Jamal Musiala’s contract. “FC Bayern, the German club with the greatest appeal and financial strength, must now do everything it can to extend Musiala’s contract, which Bayern also want. To do this, they must get Wirtz from Leverkusen and sign him to a long-term contract. If it is not possible immediately, I – if I were Bayern manager – would try everything to find an agreement from 2025 onwards,” wrote the record national player in a column for “Sport Bild” (Wednesday).
Wirtz has a contract in Leverkusen until 2027, Musiala’s contract in Munich runs until 2026. “Musiala and Wirtz are the superstars of the future!” wrote Matthäus (63) and predicted: “They will shape football in the next twelve to fifteen years. I am even convinced that each of them has what it takes to become the second German world footballer as my successor.”
The world and European champion explained that FC Bayern would also help the DFB selection if Wirtz were to be transferred. “It’s not a must, but Wirtz and Musiala together in one club would also be an advantage for the national team, because both could then work together every day and develop together.”
9:02 a.m.: Scots mourn fan
A Scottish fan has died during the European Football Championship. The man was found dead in Düsseldorf on Monday, the fan group “The Tartan Army” announced. The dead man is 57-year-old Colin King, who attended the opening match of the European Championship between Scotland and the German national team (1:5) in Munich last Friday.
First, King’s nephew confirmed his uncle’s death, writing on social media: “After the dream of qualifying became a reality, after the scramble for tickets and flights, after the disaster in the opening game, it all seems so unimportant now!”
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King drove from Munich to Düsseldorf on Sunday, explored the city there and went to bed early on Monday morning. Then he did not wake up again. The fans of “The Tartan Army” paid tribute to King in a post on X: “Colin was a huge Scotland fan. Unfortunately, he died in his sleep on Monday night.”
8:42 a.m.: Zverev misses Germany match
While most Germans will be watching the DFB team’s second preliminary round match against Hungary this evening (6 p.m./ARD/MagentaTV), Alexander Zverev has to go to the tennis court. To the surprise of many, the organizers of the tournament in Halle, Westphalia, scheduled the Olympic tennis champion’s round of 16 match against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego at the same time as the German national football team’s second appearance at the home European Championships.
“That was definitely not my wish,” said Zverev on Tuesday evening after his first-round victory against Oscar Otte. “But I don’t decide. If I did decide, I would do it differently. To be honest, I don’t think it was a smart move by the tournament,” said the world number four, who is himself a big football fan. “If I wasn’t playing, I wouldn’t watch a tennis match either, I would watch football.”
Zverev in Halle/Westphalia
Source: picture alliance/dpa/Friso Gentsch
Curiously, the organizers are advertising that there will be a public viewing of Germany vs. Hungary behind the arena from 6 p.m. – exactly when Zverev, the event’s star player, will be in action.
23:23: Ronaldo’s son celebrates in the pink Germany jersey
While Portugal’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is fighting for the European Championship title in Germany, his eldest son Cristiano Jr. celebrated his 14th birthday. And not in his dad’s jersey, but in the coveted pink away jersey of the German national team.
This can be seen in a video that Ronaldo’s partner Georgina Rodriguez published on Instagram. In it, Ronaldo’s eldest son comes to the breakfast table, still a little sleepy, where he is congratulated by his stepmother and his four siblings and receives presents.
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“Happy birthday to my big boy. I love you to the moon and back,” Rodriguez wrote. Ronaldo also congratulated his son. “I can’t believe you’re 14, time flies. Congratulations my partner in crime! Daddy loves you so much,” he wrote on Instagram. In addition to Cristiano Jr., Ronaldo has twins Eva and Mateo and daughters Alana Martina and Bella Esmeralda with Georgina Rodriguez.
22:16: Mbappé needs surgery
According to national coach Didier Deschamps, French football superstar Kylian Mbappé will have to undergo surgery after breaking his nose – but not necessarily in the next few days. “Even if it doesn’t have to be immediate, he will have to undergo surgery,” said the coach in a video published by the French association on Tuesday evening. Mbappé broke his nose on Monday in the 1-0 win in the first European Championship match against Austria.
“There will be further examinations on Wednesday to see how things develop,” said Deschamps, referring to the condition of the 25-year-old offensive player. “Obviously the impact was enormous. The medical team did everything to mitigate the consequences as much as possible,” added Deschamps. According to media reports, the association has announced a further update on the superstar’s condition for Wednesday.
All games of the home European Championship at a glance:
Schedule of the European Championship 2024 with all results
European Championship schedule as PDF to print
