TOPSHOT – Germany’s midfielder #17 Florian Wirtz (L) celebrates with Germany’s defender #06 Joshua Kimmich after scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 Group A football match between Germany and Scotland at the Munich Football Arena in Munich on June 14, 2024. (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images) © [M] Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
Do you want to finally get into the European Championship mood? We have something for you: the first special episode of our football podcast He can kickFabian Scheler and Oliver Fritsch list the findings from Germany’s opening match. Even though they both sat next to each other in the stadium, they look at the game from different angles.
“Julian Nagelsmann has become a pragmatic coach,” says Fritsch, “he does the obvious.” The national coach trusts the line-up he has been using since March. The interaction between Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz as well as the distribution of roles between İlkay Gündoğan and Toni Kroos seemed harmonious and balanced. Even if Gündoğan’s perfect place would be elsewhere and his position is a small compromise, Fritsch says: “I haven’t seen Germany this strong for a long time.” German football is not perfect, but could be ideal for this tournament.
But can that really be said after this one game? Scheler has doubts: “I’m still having a bit of trouble assessing how good Germany really is,” he says, because the Scots’ rough play is not yet a good indicator. But both agree with Scotland’s performance off the field: “The 90 minutes belonged to Germany – Scotland won the rest,” says Fritsch.
The two then talk about their trips to the folk festivals that are currently taking place in German city centers. Scheler was in Dortmund for the Italians’ game against Albania, saw trans-Adriatic fraternization and a cool Italian team that is in the making. Fritsch also wants to know from him: Where did all those frenetic Romanians come from on Monday?
Fritsch himself was in Frankfurt and fell for an optical illusion. He had seen a lot of Belgian red in the city, but in the stadium the Slovakians took control. At the end, the two hosts did a little favorite check, which English fans would be better off not listening to.
Write to us! We accept criticism of the show at [email protected]. And praise too. “Kicken kann er” is the football podcast from ZEIT ONLINE. It appears every week during the European Championships.
Do you want to finally get into the European Championship mood? We have something for you: the first special episode of our football podcast He can kickFabian Scheler and Oliver Fritsch list the findings from Germany’s opening match. Even though they both sat next to each other in the stadium, they look at the game from different angles.
“Julian Nagelsmann has become a pragmatic coach,” says Fritsch, “he does the obvious.” The national coach trusts the line-up he has been using since March. The interaction between Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz as well as the distribution of roles between İlkay Gündoğan and Toni Kroos seemed harmonious and balanced. Even if Gündoğan’s perfect place would be elsewhere and his position is a small compromise, Fritsch says: “I haven’t seen Germany this strong for a long time.” German football is not perfect, but could be ideal for this tournament.
