‘Some kind of euphoria’ – Germany celebrates ‘astonishing’ Euro 2022 success ahead of semi-final against France

Germany have surprised some observers by progressing to the semi-finals of Euro 2022, and Eurosport Germany’s Pascal Steinmann gave us insight on their rapid improvement.

Germany had failed to win a single game against Canada, Spain and England in the Arnold Clark Cup in February earlier this year.

Steinmann told us that it was indeed a turnaround for the team.

“It definitely is a surprise that the team has reached the semi-finals, especially the way they arrived there – it’s astonishing,” he said.

“They actually were a surprise from the first game, as they started with that dominant 4-0 victory against Denmark, who were really considered a big threat in the difficult group with Spain.

“Compared to the matches before and during the Arnold Clark Cup, the team is showing a completely different face. They must have really found something in preparation for the tournament.”

Steinmann pointed to a sea change in the team’s approach to games, both with how hard they work and how organised they are.

He explained: “The biggest strength seems to be the team spirit and the work ethic. Lina Magull said the entire team loves to defend. Furthermore the team is very structured and dangerous in offence due to quick players such as Magull, Klara Bühl or Jule Brand as well.

“If you want to point out a single player it must be Lena Oberdorf, who at 20, is the key part in central midfield and has the X factor to destroy counter attacks early, through her qualities in counter pressing.

“Also Alex Popp as the most experienced player and captain has to be pointed out. She started as a substitute in the beginning of the tournament, but she is performing incredibly well since she filled in for Lea Schüller, who was out due to Covid in the second match.”

Such is the rapid and sustained improvement, that Steinmann thinks that Germany are now the best team left in the tournament.

“They are the best team in the tournament so far in my point of view,” he claimed. “They have not conceded a single goal yet thanks to a good structure and defensive work of the entire team – and a very strong goalkeeper in Merle Frohms.

“To be honest, right now it is difficult to point out a big weakness. But as France is very strong and experienced as well, it might still be a 50-50 game. It could be the match of the tournament so far.”

Steinmann pointed out that Germany’s success has been embraced on a scale not normally seen by the country’s public, when it comes to women’s football.

He observed: “In terms of attention and development of women’s soccer, Germany falls behind England, Spain, Italy or other countries. In the Bundesliga there are around 500 – 1000 spectators in the stadiums on average. A lot of players often say that Germany can take other countries as a role model in that regard.

“But in this tournament, TV attention has been surprisingly high and you feel like there is some kind of euphoria around that team. People who never cared about women’s soccer are watching the games and you often hear people being surprised about the quality of the game.”