Football obviously has a weakness for analogies, and on Saturday evening in Munich it lived out this weakness excessively. An important game in Munich, the referee is Taylor, the German national team falls 0: 1 behind and wins in the end.
That was the 1974 World Cup final. And so it was on Saturday evening against Portugal, which could have turned into a kind of final for the Germans if the outcome was negative. To a game with which the dreams of a successful European Championship could have come to an end.
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Ultimately, the team of national coach Joachim Löw won 4-2. Like in June 2006 against Costa Rica, in the opening game of the World Cup in their own country, also in Munich. And that would really be a nice analogy: that the win against the Portuguese at the end of the Löw era will also be something like a new beginning. Late, but not too late.
The course of a tournament always depends on moods. The mood around the German team was rather depressed after the 0: 1 against the French during the week. But the win against Portugal, after all the defending champions, has what it takes to spark something. Because, contrary to general expectations, the national team managed a thrilling game; because she played with verve and conviction that has not been seen for a long time.
Of course, it won’t automatically be the same as it was 15 years ago in the later summer fairy tale, when the whole country started dancing. The prerequisites for this are different. On the one hand due to the pandemic, which generally does not allow dancing. On the other hand, because after 15 years in Löw, the magic of the new has long since vanished.
Parallels to the World Cup preliminary round from 2018 in Russia?
After the victory against the Portuguese, the national coach was asked whether this could be an initial spark for his team. “I don’t know,” Löw replied. “That has nothing to do with an initial spark.”
Three years ago at the World Cup in Russia, many had thought similarly after the national team had also achieved a highly emotional win in the second game of the tournament against Sweden: with a goal at the last minute. In the end, however, the preliminary round was over, due to an unexpected defeat against South Korea.
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At the EM now qualifying for the round of 16 is difficult to lose. But the further way through the tournament will not be a sure-fire success, not even with the fresh momentum from the win against the Portuguese. But success can have a positive effect.
The national team overcame initial resistance, they had to fight and hold their own. This experience can definitely prove to be an advantage. After the first two rounds of the European Championship, other countries played their part in the role of tournament favorites, teams like Italy, Holland or Belgium, which performed their tasks with a certain ease.
But experience shows that it doesn’t have to mean something. “The teams that ran perfectly in the first two games rarely won a tournament,” said Joachim Löw on Saturday evening. So Italy should be warned.
