Germany ride into EURO 2024 quarterfinals, but it took a lucky escape
Germany ride into EURO 2024 quarterfinals, but it took a lucky escape
Germany’s journey at EURO 2024 continues but in its 2-0 Round of 16 win over Denmark, it was the game that didn’t happen that lingers more than the game that did.
There might be no better illustration of the difference between 1-0 and 0-1 as Germany’s last two matches. Against Switzerland in the group stage finale, Robert Andrich fired a laser from distance and the buoyant Germans were on their way — then it was chopped off for a foul in build-up, Switzerland score, and Germany ultimately salvaged a draw it did not need to in order to advance.
Against Denmark, the script flipped. The Danes stunned Germany after an early second-half defensive scramble. All of a sudden, the hosts were under a mountain of pressure. Having conceded just like this in recent tournaments, would a goal out of nowhere doom them again? The wasteful German finishing on the day suggests it might well have.
But two centimeters of Thomas Delaney’s shoe leather were offside, so said VAR, and Joachim Andersen’s celebrations were belatedly overturned. Moments later, Andersen was caught for a handball in his own box, Kai Havertz converted the penalty, and Germany went on its way.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side might not be as fortunate in its next matches. England knows: the Three Lions were saved by a moment of Jude Bellingham magic but came within a hair of falling to Slovakia on Sunday. And in all of Germany’s recent wins, they have scored first.
When push comes to shove, has this Germany team shown it can find the goal when the threat of elimination looms? As Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich noted, they know they can win but also understand they can be beaten.
It will be Germany vs. Spain on Friday: a Spanish side riding a head of steam, knowing it can turn around an early deficit into a goals fest. And a Germany side, who enjoyed a let-off but has no reason not to believe.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Germany’s 2-0 victory over Denmark? Good, then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show where we cover the starting lineup selection, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, and takes on how it all played out. You can get the podcast on Spotify or below: