Lean spell over

Germany now have their sights set on a European Championship record

Goal scorer Jamal Musiala (left) has already scored three goals at this European Championship.

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Germany can still do it: after being knocked out in the group stage at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the round of 16 at the 2021 European Championship, they finally won another knockout game at a major tournament on Saturday. Now the DFB squad led by Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala have their sights set on the next record ...

Germany lived up to their role as favorites in a 2-0 win over Denmark in Dortmund in what team boss Julian Nagelsmann described as a "bizarre game" and deservedly booked their place in the quarter-finals. The unbeaten streak was extended to eight games. Self-confidence was further boosted thanks to goals from Kai Havertz (53) and Jamal Musiala (68). Havertz converted a penalty with ease, as he did in the opening 5-1 win over Scotland, and was a constant source of danger as a solo striker. Nagelsmann's decision to bring Havertz on and leave the prolific "joker" Niclas Füllkrug on the bench again proved to be the right one. "There's always competition in soccer, but we're fair fighters," Havertz emphasized. He enjoys scoring penalties. "That's fun for me. I try to take the pressure off myself, enjoy the moment and today it worked again."

Close to the German European Championship record goalscorer
With four European Championship goals to his name, two of them in 2021, the 25-year-old is already close to the German record scorers at the European Championships; only Mario Gomez and Jürgen Klinsmann (five each) have scored more often. Musiala also has this record in his sights, goal number three in this tournament was a reward for a strong performance. "I've always wanted to be active and score goals. I'm happy about that," said Musiala. Long forgotten is the loss of chances at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Goal scorer Musiala
And Musiala, who has risen to become joint top scorer with Georgia's Georges Mikautadze in the tournament scoring charts, has really caught the scent. "I know I can play even better. The goals are already helping me to score easy goals. I'm making sure I'm still moving forward," said the 21-year-old. The Germans, who launched 58 attacks and scored 14 times, could have had a quieter evening at Signal Iduna Park if they had scored more goals, especially during a thrilling spell of pressure in the first 20 minutes.

"We had chances where we could have made the game easier. The good thing is that we create chances. On other days, they go in," said Musiala. His coach spoke of the best first 20 minutes of the tournament. "Then it was a game full of resistance. We fought well against that. After the rain interruption, we did well defensively, but not so well offensively. We deserved to progress," analyzed the former Bayern coach.

"A little bit of luck"
The thunderstorm interruption after just over 34 minutes of play came at a good time, as the Danes were clearly better in the game. Ex-Sturm Graz striker Rasmus Höjlund could have scored three times after that, but Manuel Neuer proved to be an impregnable obstacle twice. "We also had that little bit of luck in the decisive situations," admitted the goalkeeper. In the end, as in the 2:0 win against Hungary, they were able to play to nil.

And that despite the absence of the suspended Jonathan Tah, who was well replaced by Nico Schlotterbeck. "We defended exceptionally well," said Schlotterbeck, who was also dangerous up front with headers. Nagelsmann now faces a "luxury problem" ahead of the quarter-final against Spain or Georgia in Stuttgart on Friday. Only Antonio Rüdiger, who got fit in time for the round of 16, is set.

"There's a lot of talk about strikers at a tournament, but it's important to play to nil at such a stage of the tournament," said David Alaba's club colleague at Real Madrid. He has his sights clearly set on the big goal. "We still have three finals left," emphasized Rüdiger. Nagelsmann also sees his team on the right path. "The players are slowly erasing the old hard drive and understanding how good they are," said the 36-year-old. There is also a team spirit that has not existed for a long time. "Everyone fights for each other," said Rüdiger, citing a recipe for success.