National coach Julian Nagelsmann can make full use of his squad’s personnel in the European Championship quarter-final against Spain. All 26 players were present at the final training session on Thursday at the DFB headquarters in Herzogenaurach. Midfielder Robert Andrich once again caught the eye. After platinum blonde, the 29-year-old Leverkusen player has now dyed his hair pink, the color of the German away jersey.
In Stuttgart, the DFB selection will play in their white home jersey on Friday (6 p.m./ARD and MagentaTV). Nevertheless, Andrich’s red color could be a signal of fighting spirit to the Spaniards, whose selection is known as Furia Roja (Red Rage). “We will do everything we can for the country, for the coaching team, for everyone, to win the title. That is our motivation,” announced young star Jamal Musiala on the TV channel “Sky”.
Future pink: Robert Andrich with Germany’s assistant coach Sandro Wagner (left) and Toni Kroos
Source: dpa/Federico Gambarini
Nagelsmann can plan to use Jonathan Tah in defence again in the fifth tournament match against the best team so far, Spain. The Leverkusen player has served his yellow card suspension against Denmark and is likely to return to the starting eleven for Nico Schlotterbeck. The most controversial personnel question is in the offensive. Will Leroy Sané start again? Or will the national coach rely on young star Florian Wirtz again?
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21:45: UEFA bans Turkey star Demiral
The wolf salute he showed when celebrating a goal against Austria will apparently have serious consequences for Merih Demiral. According to information from the “Bild” newspaper, UEFA has banned the Turkish national team defender for two matches. This means that the 26-year-old will miss his team’s European Championship quarter-finals on Saturday in Berlin against the Netherlands (9 p.m.) and a possible semi-final.
Amid the diplomatic tensions between Berlin and Ankara over the goal celebration affair, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced his visit to Berlin for the quarter-finals on Saturday. He will attend the Turkish national team’s match against the Netherlands at the Olympic Stadium, the Turkish presidential office announced on Thursday.
16:22: Dutchman admits luck in the draw
Before the quarter-final against Turkey, former Bayern player Daley Blind openly admitted that his Dutch team were lucky. “After the group stage, we were lucky in terms of our opponents. We don’t need to talk about that. When you see who other countries have to play against, you shouldn’t deny it,” said the 34-year-old defender.
The 1988 European champions only made it through the preliminary round as third in their group. Nevertheless, their opponents in the round of 16, Romania (3:0), and their opponents in the quarter-finals, Turkey (Saturday, 9 p.m./RTL and MagentaTV), are not among the favorites for this European Championship.
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Blind, who moved to FC Girona in Spain in 2023 after six months at FC Bayern Munich, nevertheless has great respect for the next opponent: “The Turks are very passionate and combative. They also have good players with a lot of individual quality. We have to be on our guard. It will be a tough game.”
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15:07 Criticism of France’s 177 km flight
After their European Championship victory against Belgium, the French team travels by plane from Düsseldorf to Paderborn. They even circumvent the night flight ban. Environmentalists react with outrage. But the French have an explanation ready.
Read the full text here:
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Dusseldorf – Paderborn
14:19: Police turn away twelve hooligans
The Federal Police have refused entry to twelve football fans suspected of being violent at the external borders of Baden-Württemberg. The Federal Police Directorate announced this today in Stuttgart. Border controls were reintroduced on June 7th for the European Football Championship. A 23-year-old Italian was turned away. He is being investigated on suspicion of serious breach of the peace. According to the statement, he was involved in a physical altercation in Dortmund a few days earlier in connection with the Italy vs. Albania match.
A total of 39,788 people (up to June 27) have been checked at the borders with Switzerland and France. A total of 57 arrest warrants were executed and 757 illegal entries were detected. At the same time, 736 people were turned away at the border, the Federal Police further reported.
12:49 p.m.: Spectacle around Mbappé announced
According to media reports, Kylian Mbappé is to be presented at Real Madrid with a superlative show. The 25-year-old’s presentation is still planned for July 16 – two days after the final of the European Football Championship, in which Mbappé will face former Real superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for France this Friday (9 p.m.). Even an earlier exit of the French from the European Championship will not change the date, wrote the Madrid sports daily “As”.
“It will be the most impressive performance ever by a footballer,” the Madrid team proudly announced, the sports paper continued. 80,000 fans are expected to wear the new number 9 jersey that Mbappé will wear in his first Real season. The number 10, which Mbappé also wears in the national team, will continue to be reserved for Luka Modric.
On “Día M” (M Day) there will be live music, fireworks and a stage walk à la Taylor Swift for the new superstar of the Royals, who comes from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. According to media reports, Real will pay a horrendous signing fee.
12:33 p.m.: Tapir Theo predicts Spain
Lowland tapir Theo from the zoo in Münster is betting on Spain ahead of the German national team’s quarter-final match. The animal walked purposefully, with only a brief hesitation, towards the red and yellow food ball and then started to eat, the zoo reported on Thursday.
The oracle probably considered returning to his usual routine for a moment. As a reminder: Theo had always bet on the German opponents winning at the European Football Championship. It was only before the round of 16 that Theo was correct for the first time with his prediction of a German victory against Denmark.
If Theo turns out to be a Spain expert this time, he would lose his job as an oracle. If his prediction is wrong, however, his reputation as the worst European Championship oracle would be confirmed. Then we’ll continue on Monday at 10 a.m. with the tip for the semi-final on Tuesday.
9:26 a.m.: Deutsche Bahn admits EM problems
After strong criticism from football fans, Deutsche Bahn has attributed shortcomings in long-distance traffic during the European Championships to infrastructure deficiencies, among other things. “We were indeed not quite up to par, our traffic during the European Championships did not run smoothly,” said railway spokeswoman Anja Bröker in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”.
So far, six million people have travelled by long-distance train during the European Championships. “That’s a huge rush of travel. But the infrastructure in Germany is old and outdated and not reliable, which was a challenge for us too,” said Bröker, explaining the problems. In addition, there were storms and floods in June, and 400 trains passed dam breaks and flooded routes. “One thing led to another,” said Bröker.
In particular, reports from foreign media about train breakdowns, overcrowded platforms and numerous delays in long-distance traffic caused a stir.
9:03 a.m.: The final commentator has been chosen
ARD has found its final reporter. According to information from the dpa, Tom Bartels will commentate on the final of the European Football Championship on July 14 for the public broadcaster. This is not the first football final for the 58-year-old TV journalist. Bartels has already worked as a reporter for the 2008 European Championship final (Germany-Spain 0:1) in Austria and Switzerland. In 2014, he commented on Germany’s World Cup triumph (1:0 against Argentina after extra time) in Brazil and in 2022 the World Cup final (Argentina-France 3:3, 4:2 on penalties) in Qatar.
Tom Bartels comments on the final
Source: dpa/Tom Weller
Bartels began his TV career at Premiere and RTL. After the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he went to the public broadcaster SWR, established himself as a reporter for the national team and often reports on ski jumping.
8:17 a.m.: “Be ready for the fight,” demands Rüdiger
For German defense chief Antonio Rüdiger, there is no clear favorite ahead of the quarter-final against Spain on Friday. “For me, the two most stable teams in the tournament so far are facing each other. I see a match on equal terms, we have to be ready for the fight,” the 31-year-old professional told “Kicker.”
The central defender advises against an overly defensive approach despite the feared strength of the Spaniards. “You have to have the courage to go forward because they are also vulnerable. They press high, you can get past that,” said Rüdiger. “But to do that you have to have good possession of the ball and be calm in pressure situations. And you can’t make any mistakes because we know how strong they are on the counterattack with Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, two classic wingers.”
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
