Last Updated on August 15, 2024
Germany has an unusual one when it comes to the journey they had to go through to get to the dream final. While the squad is a well-known footballing nation, they were somewhat of a mystery entering the tournament. Because they hadn’t played competitively for a while and struggled in friendlies. But under Julian Nagelsmann, they found their form just in time. Germany won their first two matches against Scotland and Hungary, scoring seven goals and allowing just one.
They needed a late equalizer against Switzerland to top their group, but it set them on a tough path. In the knockout stages, they secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Denmark. On the other side, Spain looked strong, winning all their group games without conceding a goal.
They outperform Croatia, Italy, and Albania—a feat that only Italy had previously achieved in Euro 2020. In the last 16, Spain overcame an own goal to defeat Georgia 4-1, setting up a thrilling match against Germany. This highly anticipated clash is scheduled for 5 pm on Friday, July 5th, at the MHPArena in Stuttgart.
Jamal Musiala scored the final goal in Germany’s 2-0 win over Denmark, continuing his great performance at the tournament. The Bayern Munich midfielder has now netted in three of Germany’s four matches at Euro 2024, with three goals in total.
Only one other player, Wayne Rooney at Euro 2004, has scored more goals in a single European Championship before turning 21. Luis de la Fuente clearly has a preferred starting lineup for Spain.
Eleven players have started in three of their four games, with Aymeric Laporte joining from the second match onwards. The other ten players were rested against Albania after Spain secured the top spot but returned to the starting XI against Georgia.
We expect the same lineup against Germany, with Alvaro Morata, Inaki Williams, and Lamine Yamal as the front three. On the German side, Julian Nagelsmann made some changes between their draw with Switzerland and the win over Denmark.
Jonathan Tah was suspended, so Nico Schlotterbeck replaced him, and David Raum came in for Maximilian Mittelstadt at left-back. Nagelsmann also chose Leroy Sane over Florian Wirtz, which proved effective as Sane troubled Denmark.
Tah will likely return, while Wirtz might be on the bench again. Spain has not lost to Germany in their last four games, winning one 6-0 in the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League and drawing the other three, including their last meeting in the 2022 World Cup group stage.