JUST IN: VFL Bochum Star Analyzed German Stance After Euros Loose

After years in the wilderness, the German men’s national team has rebounded in a big way with a promising EURO 2024 tournament — where, despite exiting to finalist Spain in the quarters, the Germans under Julian Nagelsmann easily looked like one of the top two teams in the event.

Or did they? One German coach does not think so: Brighton’s Fabian Hürzeler.

Hürzeler is a Bayern Munich II alum who at 31 has already landed a post in the Premier League after a stint at FC St. Pauli. Here’s what the young coach had to say:

“From a sporting point of view, it was not an outstanding tournament. We didn’t win against a top nation, but lost against the first top nation. We already had our problems against Switzerland.” [Source: NDR, as captured by @iMiaSanMia]

It’s true that the outcomes are similar enough to past tournaments. In EURO 2020, Germany played a tight game in the Round of 16 against England, who went on to the Final. In the 2022 World Cup, Germany drew in 90 minutes against Spain despite a strong performance, and was unlucky to not get the chance to show what it could do in the knockouts.

Arguably, the main difference is that Germany got an easier slate of opponents this time around: trouncing a hapless Scotland instead of facing off against France in the opener, for example.