One year late, the European Football Championship will take place across Europe. The German team of national coach Joachim Löw is also there. All news about the tournament can be found here.
From June 11th to July 11th, the European Football Championship will take place in eleven different venues. One of them is Munich.
So that you can stay up to date for the next four weeks, you can read all the news, information, anecdotes and the most important updates from the DFB camp from our reporter Noah Platschko here in the EM news blog.
The opening ceremony begins
Alessandro Nesta and Francesco Totti are there. The latter in particular has special memories of the “Stadio Olimpico”. As a Roma legend, he ended his career here.
Opening ceremony with football legends – thousands of fans on site
The opening game of the EM will kick off in Rome at 9 p.m. Italy and Turkey meet in front of around 16,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium in Rome. Before that there will be an opening ceremony with Andrea Bocelli singing.
Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta, two legends of Italian football, will also be there.
These are the line-ups for the opening game
Turkey: 23 Cakir / Trabzonspor (25 years / 9 internationals) – 2 Celik / OSC Lille (24/3), 3 Demiral (23/22), 4 Söyüncü / Leicester City (25/36), 13 Meras / AC Le Havre (25/14) – 5 Okay / West Bromwich Albion (27/35), 6 Tufan / Fenerbahce Istanbul (26/61) – 9 Karaman / Fortuna Düsseldorf (27/23), 10 Calhanoglu / AC Milan (27/57) , 11 Yazici / Lille OSC (24/31) – 17 Burak Yilmaz / Lille OSC (35/68). – Trainer: Günes
Italien: 21 Donnarumma / AC Mailand (22 Jahre / 27 Länderspiele) – 24 Florenzi / AS Roma (30/44), 19 Bonucci / Juventus Turin (34/103), 3 Chiellini / Juventus Turin (36/108), 4 Spinazzola / AS Rom (28/14) – 18 Barella / Inter Mailand (24/24), 8 Jorginho / FC Chelsea (29/29), 5 Locatelli / Sassuolo Calcio (23/11) – 10 Insigne / SSC Neapel (30 / 42), 17 Immobile / Lazio Roma (31/47), 11 Berardi / Sassuolo Calcio (26/12). – Trainer: Mancini
Hummels hit the face by a ball while training
A moment of shock before the start of the DFB training: Before a brief address from national coach Joachim Löw, defense chief Mats Hummels received a ball from Antonio Rüdiger from a short distance on the head and probably bit his lip. Several players made sure of the well-being of the BVB star. After a short shake and an apology from “culprit” Rüdiger, the matter was already ticked and Hummels took part in the rest of the training without any symptoms.
Fire alarm on Adidas grounds during DFB training
A fire brigade operation with several fire engines caused a stir on the Adidas site in Herzogenaurach during the training of the German national soccer team. With sirens, the police also drove to the huge campus of the Franconian sporting goods manufacturer in Herzogenaurach on Friday morning. A little later there was the all-clear: it was a false alarm, said a spokesman for the integrated control center in Nuremberg. A fire alarm had triggered for no apparent cause, it said.
National coach Joachim Löw practiced with his players at the same time in the more distant Adi-Dassler Stadium, which is also located on the area. For the time of the European Championship, the DFB entourage will live on the grounds of the DFB partner in a newly built residential complex.
Koch: “Everyone can be important”
National soccer player Robin Koch is calm about his possible role as a reservist at the start of the European Championship. “The special thing about a tournament like this is that everyone who takes part here deserves 100 percent. During the course of the tournament, each individual can become important,” said Koch on Friday in the DFB quarter in Herzogenaurach.
With this attitude, according to Koch, all 26 players go to training – whether regular players or jokers. “Everyone hits everything, we push each other, everyone goes to their personal limits. So the level is high,” said the former Freiburg native.
Gladbacher Hofmann is missing from DFB training
The tournament debutant Jonas Hofmann’s participation in the European Championship is uncertain. The Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder injured his knee on Thursday and was unable to complete the national soccer team’s training session in Herzogenaurach on Friday. “He’s still here in the quarter,” reported DFB press spokesman Jens Grittner at the national soccer team’s digital press conference. There the 28-year-old will be examined further.
A use of Hofmann in the EM opening game on Tuesday (9 p.m. in the live ticker at t-online) in Munich against France is therefore unlikely. After Leon Goretzka, who is not yet ready for action after his muscle injury against the world champion, Hofmann would be the second failure. National coach Joachim Löw has to delete three of his 26 players from the final line-up for each game anyway.
Corona case in the Russian team
The Russian national soccer team also complained about a corona case immediately before their start in the European Championship. Midfielder Andrej Mostowoi (23) from Zenit St. Petersburg had tested positive, the Russians announced on Friday, one day before the duel with Belgium on Saturday (from 9 p.m. in the t-online live ticker).
Mostovoi will therefore miss the tournament, he was immediately removed from the squad. National coach Stanislaw Tschertschessow, former Bundesliga goalkeeper at Dynamo Dresden, nominated defender Roman Evgeniev (22) from Dinamo Moscow after. To what extent the Corona case Mostovoi will have further effects was initially not known.
Merkel wishes DFB team luck via video switch
Chancellor Angela Merkel got the German national soccer team in the mood for a demanding European championship on Thursday evening. “I’m looking forward to your games,” said the 66-year-old in the context of a video link with the players, coaches and supervisors of the DFB team: “It’s about to get off to a difficult start; I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you will get very far.” After the video talk with Merkel, Toni Kroos and his colleagues posed for a group picture with Angela Merkel, who was smiling friendly from the screen.
That evening, the team thanked them via Twitter for the “support and good wishes, dear Ms. Chancellor”. On Friday evening the pan-European finals will begin with the opening game between Italy and Turkey in Rome, on Tuesday Germany will start the tournament in Munich against world champions France. Other group opponents are defending champions Portugal (June 19) and Hungary (June 23).
In the past, Merkel had personally met the entire team before major tournaments, this time it was not possible due to the pandemic. The virtual exchange is also “a huge appreciation and a nice distraction,” said DFB director Oliver Bierhoff: “It is clear to everyone that it is a national matter and that the result is important for all of us.”
After torn muscle: Goretzka back in training
National coach Joachim Löw can contest the first training session of the German national team in the EM quarters in Herzogenaurach with all players. On Thursday afternoon, Leon Goretzka will also be standing on the lawn of the Adi-Dassler-Stadium after surviving a torn muscle. “It’s nice that we can fall back on all the players. We have the full band together,” said DFB director Oliver Bierhoff.
Leon Goretzka: The Bayern star is back in team training for the national team. (Source: Angelika Warmuth / Reuters)
Goretzka had trained individually after arriving late at the training camp in Seefeld. The midfielder of the German record champions Bayern Munich missed the test matches against Denmark (1: 1) and Latvia (7: 1). The DFB selection starts on Tuesday in Munich against world champion France in the tournament.
Dutch whistle the opening game
The Dutch referee Danny Makkelie (38) whistles for the opening game between Italy and Turkey. As can be seen from the official schedule of the game, the French Stéphanie Frappart (37), who was nominated as the first referee for a men’s European Championship, will be the fourth official for her first appearance.
As the first referee at a men’s European Championship: Stéphanie Frappart. (Source: Shutterstock / imago images)
Less injury worries
After Donny van de Beek’s bitter EM elimination, the Netherlands have no further personnel worries to complain about for the time being. Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt and defender Daley Blind from Ajax Amsterdam were also on the training ground on Wednesday. Both struggled with minor injuries recently, but seem to be fit in time for the first group game against Ukraine on Sunday in Amsterdam.
Baby boom in Hungary
A small baby boom started in Germany’s group opponent Hungary shortly before the European Championship. A few days ago striker Janos Hahn (Paksi SE) became the father of little Sara. Adam Nagy (Bristol City) followed shortly afterwards. The midfielder became the father of little Vencel. “We’re all happy, it’s an incredible feeling,” a beaming Nagy told the Hungarian media. “I’m sure that will give me extra motivation during the EM.”
German fans trust Jogi-Elf
The German fans have a lot of confidence in the German national team at the EM. With 74.5 percent, almost three quarters of the 1156 respondents see the DFB selection at least in the quarter-finals. That is the result of a representative online survey by the Bavarian Football Association (BFV) and the Nuremberg market research company SLC Management. Almost 15 percent even believe in the final, almost half of them in the title.
Last time European champion: Captain Jürgen Klinsmann (center) lifted the trophy in 1996. Right next to him is the Queen of England, Queen Elisabeth. (Source: Camera 4 / imago images)
Hoffenheimer Skov probably ready
The Danish international Robert Skov from Bundesliga club 1899 Hoffenheim can, contrary to initial fears, still hope for his first European Championship participation. The 25-year-old winger twisted his ankle in the friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina (2-0) on Sunday evening. Three days later, his national coach Kasper Hjulmand gave at least a preliminary all-clear. “It looks positive for Robert. We got another scan and are now at a point where we think we can get him fit,” said Hjulmand.
Who should Germany play with? Put your elf up
The German national team completed the last two tests before the start of the European Championship. The first European Championship game against France will take place on June 15th. But who does national coach Löw set up for it? What do you mean? Jump Jogi Löw to the side and line up your elf. Click here and choose your DFB starting XI against France.
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