The Netherlands will play their last group match on Tuesday evening in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. At 6 p.m., Oranje will face Austria with head coach Ralf Rangnick. The Dutch traveled from their European Championship quarters in Wolfsburg to the capital on Monday by ICE. It was very quick with the ICE. That saves time. But with train times, you never know exactly when the trains will leave. Everything worked out on the way there,” revealed national coach Ronald Koeman.
The problem is the return journey. After 9:20 p.m. there are no direct connections that stop in Wolfsburg before midnight. Much to the annoyance of the Dutch head coach. “We won’t be able to return after the game because there are no trains that will take us to Wolfsburg,” explained Koeman. “Germany is promoting itself as hosting a sustainable European Championship. But they aren’t managing it.”
The Dutch team will be taking a somewhat sustainable route back to the team’s Ritz-Carlton quarters in Wolfsburg by bus instead of train. The journey will take around three hours. The outward journey on the ICE took just 90 minutes.
12:45 p.m.: Lahm criticizes German infrastructure
Tournament director Philipp Lahm takes the criticism of the infrastructure at the European Football Championship from home and abroad seriously. “I think we as a whole have neglected to work a little on the infrastructure in recent decades,” said Lahm.
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At the same time, he promised improvement for the many fans: “We are in contact with Deutsche Bahn, they will continue to do everything they can to ensure that people get from A to B on time. But this is not a problem that is occurring now, during the tournament. They should have worked on this long before.”
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He himself had a bad experience when he didn’t make it to the Düsseldorf stadium in time for the kick-off of the European Championship match between Ukraine and Slovakia (2:1). “Overall, I’ve been travelling by train for ten days now and I’ve been very, very punctual for most things. Of course I was late, which is certainly annoying, especially for fans who undertake long journeys and who spend money, a lot of money on it,” said Lahm.
10:54 a.m.: The Germans are not expecting to win the European Championship
The majority of Germans still do not expect the DFB team to win the title. However, faith in coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team has grown compared to the spring. After reaching the round of 16 as group winners, 16 percent of those surveyed believe the German Football Association’s team will win the title, according to a representative survey by the YouGov opinion research institute.
When he plays, the atmosphere is boiling – saxophonist André Schnura is the fan favourite of the European Championship
Saxophonist André Schnura has become a minor celebrity at the European Championships. With sunglasses, a Völler jersey and his distinctive black saxophone, he has played his way into the hearts of the fans.
More than two months before the start of the tournament in early April, only six percent expected a sweep. Last year, optimism was even lower: at the end of November, only two percent of respondents said that the DFB selection would celebrate the fourth German European Championship title in the final on July 14, 2024 in Berlin.
10:31 a.m.: Matthäus believes in the DFB team
Record national player Lothar Matthäus has great confidence in the DFB team of national coach Julian Nagelsmann even after the 1:1 draw against Switzerland. “The 1:1 against Switzerland also showed us something: We can come from behind and we can play until the last minute without losing faith in our strength or becoming hectic,” the 63-year-old wrote in his Sky column at the European Football Championship.
The opponents will get better as the tournament progresses, but the German team’s focus will also be stronger because the knockout games are now coming up. “I have also never seen a team that won the title perform convincingly in all seven games,” Matthäus continued. Matthäus is relaxed about Jonathan Tah’s absence, and his teammate Antonio Rüdiger (thigh strain) is also injured. “Nagelsmann now knows that he can rely on Nico Schlotterbeck as a replacement for Jonathan Tah, who was suspended in the round of 16,” he said. “Just like he can rely on David Raum, who I had in my starting eleven before the European Championships.”
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9:55 a.m.: The European Championship is threatened with a second disgrace from Gijón
The ball-pushing between Germany and Austria at the 1982 World Cup went down in football history as the Shame of Gijón. Changes to the format are designed to make such scandals impossible. But that is exactly what happened in Group E of the European Championship on Wednesday. All information can be found here:
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9:14 a.m.: Major police operation in Leipzig
The match between Croatia and Italy led to a major police operation in Leipzig. According to the current status, 45 criminal offenses and five administrative offenses have been registered, the police announced. However, it is expected that the number of cases will rise considerably after the night has been evaluated. In total, around 2,000 police officers were deployed.
Most of the investigations were opened for attempted dangerous bodily harm in connection with the ignition of pyrotechnics, but also for incitement to hatred, the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations, bodily harm, and trespassing.
Before the match on Monday evening, eight Croatian fans who had previously been denied entry were arrested and taken into custody. In addition, according to police, six men shouted anti-constitutional slogans in a bar. The four Croatians and two Germans are being investigated on suspicion of incitement.
7:13 a.m.: Tens of thousands of fans expected in Berlin
Thousands of fans from both countries are expected in the capital today for the Netherlands vs. Austria match in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. The Oranje fans who have tickets for the match (6 p.m./RTL/MagentaTV) will meet in the afternoon at Hammarskjöldplatz at the exhibition center and from there head towards the stadium. The Austrians will meet at Breitscheidplatz near the Ku’damm to celebrate beforehand.
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At the same time, football fans can also visit the two large fan zones at the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building, where the game and other matches from the third preliminary round will be broadcast. Tens of thousands of fans are expected there during the afternoon and evening.
4:44 am: Modric continues his career
Croatia’s national hero Luka Modric will continue his football career after this European Championship. “I won’t stop right away. I’ll be playing for a while. I don’t know how long,” said the 38-year-old playmaker after the bitter 1:1 draw in the last group match against defending champions Italy. It was unclear, however, whether Modric was referring to his career in the Vatreni jersey or at club level with Real Madrid. His contract with the Royals ends in a few days.
Last-minute goal for the round of 16 – Zaccagni redeems Italy in the 98th minute
With a goal in the very last second, Italy secured their ticket to the round of 16. After the Croatians took the lead through Modric, it looked like they were going to lose for a long time before Zaccagni struck with ice-cold precision in the 98th minute. The highlights in the video.
For Modric and Croatia, the European Championship journey is as good as over. The chances of reaching the knockout phase are extremely slim after three games without a win. “The football was terrible today,” said Modric, who put his team in the lead in the 55th minute and crowned himself the oldest goalscorer in European Championship history.
He no longer believes that he will advance after Italy’s Mattia Zaccagni equalised in the eighth minute of injury time. “I couldn’t help my team enough with the goal. It’s hard to lose like that,” said Modric.
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
