The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in men's international
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and played its first match in 1908.
The team is governed by the
German Football Association
The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...
(''Deutscher Fußball-Bund''), founded in 1900.
Between 1949 and 1990, separate German national teams were recognised by
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
due to
Allied occupation and division: the DFB's team representing the
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
(commonly referred to as West Germany in English between 1949 and 1990), the
Saarland team representing the
Saar Protectorate
The Saar Protectorate (german: Saarprotektorat ; french: Protectorat de la Sarre) officially Saarland (french: Sarre) was a French protectorate separated from Germany; which was later opposed by the Soviet Union, one side occupying Germany like ...
(1950–1956) and the
East Germany team representing the
German Democratic Republic
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
(1952–1990). The latter two were absorbed along with their records;
the present team represents the reunified Federal Republic. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following
reunification in 1990.
Germany is one of the most successful national teams in international competitions, having won four
World Cups
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
(
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
,
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
), three
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
(
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
,
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
,
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
), and one
Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
(
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
).
They have also been runners-up three times in the European Championships, four times in the World Cup, and a further four third-place finishes at World Cups.
East Germany won
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
Gold in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
. Germany is the only nation to have won both the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
and the
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...
. At the end of the 2014 World Cup, Germany earned the second highest
Elo rating
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor.
The Elo system was invented as an improved ch ...
of any national football team in history, with 2,223 points. Germany is also the only European nation that has won a FIFA World Cup in the Americas.
On 1 August 2021,
Hansi Flick
Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick (born 24 February 1965) is a German professional football coach and former player who is the manager of the Germany national team. From August 2006 to July 2014, he was the assistant coach of Germany under manager Joac ...
became head coach of the team, after
Joachim Löw
Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil ...
announced that he would step down after
UEFA Euro 2020
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
.
History
Early years (1899–1942)
![German_national_team_at_its_first_official_international_match_in_1908](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/German_national_team_at_its_first_official_international_match_in_1908.jpg)
On 18 April 1897, an early international game on
German soil was played in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
when a selection team from the
Danish Football Association
The Danish Football Union ( da, Dansk Boldspil-Union; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national t ...
defeated a selection team from the Hamburg-Altona Football Association, 5–0.
Between 1899 and 1901, prior to the formation of a national team, there were five international matches between Germany and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
selection teams, which are today not recognised as official by either nation's football association (in part because England fielded their
amateur side, which was an overflow or B team). All five matches ended in large defeats for the Germany teams, including a 12–0 loss at
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...
in September 1901.
Eight years after the establishment of the
German Football Association
The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...
(DFB) in 1900, the first official match of the Germany national football team was played on 5 April 1908, against
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, with the Swiss winning 5–3.
A follow-up to the earlier series between England Amateurs and Germany occurred in March 1909 at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
's White House Ground and resulted in Germany's largest official defeat to date: 9-0 (this time, the match was recognised and recorded as official by the DFB but not by the
FA, again due to the amateur side being fielded).
These early confrontations formed the beginning of the rich
rivalry
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
between the two teams: one of the longest and most enduring international rivalries in football.
Julius Hirsch
Julius Hirsch (7 April 1892 – declared dead 8 May 1945) was a Jewish German Olympian international footballer who was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust. He helped Karlsruher FV win the 1910 German foot ...
was the first Jewish player to represent the Germany national football team, which he joined in 1911.
Hirsch scored four goals for Germany against the Netherlands in 1912, becoming the first German to score four goals in a single match.
Gottfried Fuchs
Gottfried Erik Fuchs (also Godfrey Fuchs; (3 May 1889 – 25 February 1972) was a German Olympic footballer. He scored a then-world record 10 goals for the Germany national football team in a 16–0 win against Russia at the 1912 Olympics. He le ...
scored a world record 10 goals for Germany in a 16–0 win against
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
at the
1912 Olympics in Stockholm on 1 July, becoming the top scorer of the tournament; his international record was not surpassed until 2001 when
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
's
Archie Thompson
Archie Gerald Thompson (born 23 October 1978) is an Australian former professional association football, footballer. He also is serving as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC.
Born in New Zealand, Thompson played youth football at the N ...
scored 13 goals in a 31–0 defeat of
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
. He was Jewish, and the
German Football Association
The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...
erased all references to him from their records between 1933 and 1945.
As of 2016, he was still the top German scorer for one match.
At that time the players were selected by the DFB, as there was no dedicated coach. The first manager of the Germany national team was
Otto Nerz
Otto Nerz (21 October 1892 – 18 April 1949) was a German footballer player and manager and the first head coach of the Germany national team between 1923 and 1936.
Nerz was born in Hechingen, Province of Hohenzollern, son of a rope shopkeep ...
, a school teacher from
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
, who served in the role from 1926 to 1936. The German FA could not afford travel to Uruguay for the first World Cup staged in
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, but finished third in the
1934 World Cup
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.
The 1934 World Cup was the first in ...
in their first appearance in the competition. After a poor showing at the
1936 Olympic Games in Berlin,
Sepp Herberger
Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West German national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...
became coach. In 1937 he put together a squad which was soon nicknamed the ''Breslau Elf'' (
the Breslau Eleven) in recognition of their 8–0 win over Denmark in the then German city of
Breslau,
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...
(now Wrocław, Poland).
After
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
became part of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in the ''
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
'' of March 1938, the
Austrian national team – one of Europe's best sides at the time due to professionalism – was disbanded despite having already qualified for the
1938 World Cup.
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
politicians ordered five or six ex-Austrian players, from the clubs
Rapid Vienna
Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence.
Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...
,
Austria Vienna
Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mos ...
, and
First Vienna FC
First Vienna FC is an Austrian association football club based in the Döbling district of Vienna. Established on 22 August 1894, it is the country's oldest team and has played a notable role in the history of the game there. It is familiarly k ...
, to join the "all-German" team on short notice in a staged show of unity for political reasons. At the 1938 World Cup in France, this "united" Germany national team managed only a 1–1 draw against Switzerland and then lost the replay 2–4 in front of a hostile crowd in Paris. That early exit stands as Germany's worst World Cup result, and one of just three occasions the team failed to progress from the group stage – the next would not occur until the
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
tournament, and it would be repeated in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
.
During World War II, the team played over 30 international games between September 1939 and November 1942. National team games were then suspended, as most players had to join the armed forces. Many of the national team players were gathered together under coach Herberger as ''Rote Jäger'' through the efforts of a sympathetic air force officer trying to protect the footballers from the most dangerous wartime service.
Three Germany national teams (1945–1990)
After World War II, Germany was banned from competition in most sports until 1950. The DFB was not a full member of FIFA, and none of the three new German states –
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
,
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, and
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
– entered the
1950 World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...
qualifiers.
The Federal Republic of Germany, which was referred to as West Germany, continued the DFB. With recognition by FIFA and UEFA, the DFB maintained and continued the record of the pre-war team.
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
was the first team that played West Germany in 1950, with the latter qualifying for the
1954 World Cup and the former hosting it.
The
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
, under French control between 1946 and 1956, did not join French organisations, and was barred from participating in pan-German ones. It sent
their own team to the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
and to the
1954 World Cup qualifiers. In 1957, Saarland acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany.
In 1949, the
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was founded. In 1952 the ''
Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR
The Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR (DFV) was from 1958 the football association of the (East) German Democratic Republic, fielding the East Germany national football team until 1990 before rejoining its counterpart, the German Football Asso ...
'' (DFV) was established and the
East Germany national football team
The East Germany national football team, recognized as Germany DR by FIFA, was from 1952 to 1990 the football team of East Germany, playing as one of three post-war German teams, along with Saarland and West Germany.
After German reunification ...
took to the field. They were the only team to beat the
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...
winning West Germans in the only meeting of the two sides of the divided nation. East Germany won the gold medal at the
1976 Olympics. After
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
in 1990, the eastern football competition was reintegrated into the DFB.
1954 World Cup victory
![Helmut Rahn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Helmut_Rahn.jpg)
West Germany, captained by
Fritz Walter
Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (, ; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany a ...
, met in the
1954 World Cup against
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. When playing favourites
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
in the group stage, West Germany lost 3–8, and faced the Hungarian
"Mighty Magyars" again in the final. Hungary had gone unbeaten for 32 consecutive matches, and West Germany snapped the streak by winning 3–2, with
Helmut Rahn
Helmut Rahn (16 August 1929 – 14 August 2003), known as ''Der Boss'' (The Boss), was a German footballer who played as a forward. He became a legend for having scored the winning goal in the final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup (West Germany vs. ...
scoring the winning goal. The success is called "The Miracle of Bern" (''Das Wunder von Bern'').
Memorable losses: Wembley goal and game of the century (1958–1970)
After finishing fourth in the
1958 World Cup and reaching only the quarter-finals in the
1962 World Cup, the DFB made changes. Professionalism was introduced, and the best clubs from the various Regionalligas were assembled into the new
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
. In 1964,
Helmut Schön
Helmut Schön (15 September 1915 – 23 February 1996) was a German football player and manager. He is best remembered for his exceptional career as manager of the West German national team in four consecutive World Cup tournaments, including ...
took over as coach, replacing Herberger who had been in office for 28 years.
In the
1966 World Cup, West Germany reached the final after beating the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
in the semi-final, facing hosts
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. In extra time, the first goal by
Geoff Hurst
Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley St ...
was one of the most contentious goals in the history of the World Cup: the linesman signalled the ball had crossed the line for a goal, after bouncing down from the crossbar, when replays showed it did not appear to have fully crossed the line. Hurst then scored another goal giving England a 4–2 win.
West Germany in the
1970 World Cup knocked England out in the quarter-finals 3–2, before they suffered a 4–3 extra-time loss in the semi-final against
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. This match with five goals in extra time is one of the most dramatic in World Cup history, and is called the "
Game of the Century" in both Italy and Germany. West Germany claimed third by beating
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
1–0.
Gerd Müller
Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...
finished as the tournament's top scorer with 10 goals.
1974 World Cup title on home soil
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-N0716-0314, Fußball-WM, BRD - Niederlande 2-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-N0716-0314%2C_Fu%C3%9Fball-WM%2C_BRD_-_Niederlande_2-1.jpg)
In 1971,
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
became captain of the national team, and he led West Germany to victory at the European Championship at
Euro 1972
The 1972 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Belgium. This was the fourth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 14 and 18 June 1972.
Only four ...
, defeating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final.
As hosts of the
1974 World Cup, they won their second World Cup, defeating the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
2–1 in the final in Munich.
Two matches in the 1974 World Cup stood out for West Germany. The first group stage saw a politically charged match as West Germany played a game against
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. The East Germans won 1–0 but it made a scant difference to West Germany as only the West Germans acquired a good record and thus advanced to the knockout stage. The West Germans advanced to the final against the
Johan Cruijff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a pr ...
-led Dutch team and their brand of "
Total Football". The Dutch took the lead from a
penalty
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
A p ...
. However, West Germany tied the match on a penalty by
Paul Breitner
Paul Breitner (born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back. Considered one of the best players of his era, Breitner was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team, and was named by Pel ...
, and won it with
Gerd Müller
Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...
's fine finish soon after.
Late 1970s and early 1980s
![BOMBERGERDMUELLER](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/BOMBERGERDMUELLER.JPG)
West Germany failed to defend their titles in the next two major international tournaments. They lost to
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
in the final of
Euro 1976
The 1976 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Yugoslavia. This was the fifth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976.
Only f ...
in a
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
5–3, their last penalty shootout loss in a major tournament as of 2022.
In the
1978 World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.
The Cup was won by ...
, Germany was eliminated in the second group stage after losing 3–2 to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Schön retired as coach afterward, and the post was taken over by his assistant,
Jupp Derwall
Josef "Jupp" Derwall (10 March 1927 – 26 June 2007) was a German professional football manager and player. He was head coach of the West Germany national team between 1978 and 1984, winning the UEFA Euro 1980 and reaching the final of the 198 ...
.
West Germany's first tournament under Derwall was successful, as they earned their second European title at
Euro 1980
The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams i ...
after defeating
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
2–1 in the final. West Germany started the
1982 World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...
with a 1–2 upset by newcomers
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
in their first match, but advanced to the second round with a
controversial 1–0 win over
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. In the
semi-final against France, they tied the match 3–3 and won the penalty shootout 5–4. In the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, they were defeated by Italy 1–3.
During this period, West Germany's
Gerd Müller
Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...
racked up fourteen goals in two World Cups (1970 and 1974). His ten goals in 1970 are the third-most ever in a tournament. Müller's all-time World Cup record of 14 goals was broken by
Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People
Notable people known as Ronaldo include:
As ...
in 2006; this was then further broken by
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Austrian Footb ...
in 2014 with 16 goals.
Beckenbauer's managing success (1984–1990)
![Beckenbauer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Beckenbauer.jpg)
After West Germany were eliminated in the first round of
Euro 1984,
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
returned to the national team to replace Derwall as manager.
At the
1986 World Cup in Mexico, West Germany finished as runners-up for the second consecutive tournament after beating France 2–0 in the semi-finals, but losing to the
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
-led
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in the final, 2–3. In
Euro 1988
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA.
The tournament crowned the Nethe ...
, after drawing Italy 1–1 and beating both Denmark and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
2–0 in the group stage, West Germany's hopes of winning the tournament on home soil were spoiled by the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, as the Dutch beat them 2–1 in the semi-finals.
At the
1990 World Cup in Italy, West Germany won their third World Cup title, in its unprecedented third consecutive final appearance.
Captained by
Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German association football, football pundit and former professional player and manager. After captaining Germany national football team, West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup whe ...
, they defeated
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
(4–1),
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
(5–1), the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
(2–1),
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
(1–0), and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
(1–1, 4–3 on penalty kicks) on the way to a final rematch against
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in Rome. West Germany won 1–0, with the only goal being a penalty scored in the 85th minute by
Andreas Brehme
Andreas "Andy" Brehme (; born 9 November 1960) is a German football coach and former football defender. At international level, he is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina from a ...
.
Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup as the national team's captain in 1974, thus became the first person to win the World Cup as both captain and manager,
and the second to win as player and manager, after
Mario Zagallo
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
of Brazil.
Olympic football
Prior to 1984,
Olympic football
Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA Wo ...
was an amateur event, meaning that only non-professional players could participate due to this, West Germany was never able to achieve the same degree of success at the Olympics as at the World Cup. The first medal coming in the
1988 Olympics, when they won the bronze medal after beating
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
3–0 in the 3rd place match. West Germany also reached the second round in both
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
and
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
. On the other hand, due to having an ability to field its top-level players who were classified as amateurs on a technicality East Germany did better, winning a gold, a silver and two bronze medals (one representing the
United Team of Germany
The United Team of Germany (german: Gesamtdeutsche Mannschaft) was a combined team of athletes from West Germany and East Germany that competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In 1956, the team also included athletes f ...
).
Berti Vogts years (1990–1998)
![Berti Vogts 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Berti_Vogts_2012.jpg)
In February 1990, months after the fall of the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
,
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and West Germany were drawn together in
UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying Group 5
Group 5 of the UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying tournament was played as four team group consisting of Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Wales.
At the time of the draw on 2 February 1990, Group 5 had contained a fifth team, East Germany. The first schedu ...
. In November 1990, the East German association
Deutscher Fußball-Verband
Deutscher is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Alma Deutscher, British musician and composer
*Drafi Deutscher, German singer and composer
*Guy Deutscher (linguist)
*Guy Deutscher (physicist)
*Isaac Deutscher, British jou ...
integrated into the DFB, by which time the East Germany team had ceased operations, playing its last match on 12 September 1990. The unified Germany national team completed the European Championship qualifying group. The
East German 1990–91 league continued, with a restructuring of German leagues
in 1991–92. The first game with a unified Germany national team was against
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
on 19 December.
After the 1990 World Cup, assistant
Berti Vogts took over as the national team coach from the retiring Beckenbauer. In
Euro 1992
The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA.
Denmark won the 1992 championship, having qualifi ...
, Germany reached the final, but lost 0–2 to underdogs
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
In the
1994 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...
, they were upset 1–2 in the quarterfinals by
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
.
Reunified Germany won its first major international title at
Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
, becoming European champions for the third time. They defeated hosts
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the semi-finals, and the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
2–1 in the final on a
golden goal
The golden goal or golden point is a rule used in association football, lacrosse, field hockey, and ice hockey to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the end of normal time. It is a type of sud ...
in extra time.
However, in the
1998 World Cup, Germany were eliminated in the quarterfinals in a 0–3 defeat to
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, all goals being scored after defender
Christian Wörns
Christian Wörns (born 10 May 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. Wörns is widely considered one of the finest German defenders of his generation. He started his career with Waldhof Mannheim but played the ...
received a straight red card. Vogts stepped down afterwards and was replaced by
Erich Ribbeck
Erich Ribbeck (born 13 June 1937) is a German former professional football player and manager, best known for coaching in the Bundesliga. In 1988, he won the UEFA Cup as manager of Bayer Leverkusen, the first title in the club's history.
Club c ...
.
Erich Ribbeck and Rudi Völler years (2000–2004)
In
Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament was ...
, the team went out in the first round, drawing with Romania, then suffering a 1–0 defeat to England and were routed 3–0 by Portugal (which fielded their backup players, having already advanced). Ribbeck resigned, and was replaced by
Rudi Völler
Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (; born 13 April 1960), nicknamed "''Tante Käthe''" ("Aunt Käthe"), is a German former professional football player and manager who serves as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen.
A forward, Völler won the FIFA W ...
.
Coming into the
2002 World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
, expectations of Germany were low due to poor results in the
qualifiers, and not directly qualifying for the finals for the first time. The team advanced through group play, and in the knockout stages they produced three consecutive 1–0 wins against
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and co-hosts
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
Oliver Neuville
Oliver Patric Neuville (, born 1 May 1973) is a German former footballer who played as a striker.
During an 18-year professional career he played mainly for Bayer Leverkusen (five seasons) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (six), amassing Bundeslig ...
scored two minutes from time against Paraguay and
Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of the German national team. Ballack wore the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for, except 1. FC ...
scored both goals in the US and South Korea games, although he picked up a second yellow card against South Korea for a
tactical foul and was suspended for the subsequent match. This set up a final against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, the first World Cup meeting between the two. Germany lost 0–2 thanks to two
Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People
Notable people known as Ronaldo include:
As ...
goals. Nevertheless, German captain and goalkeeper
Oliver Kahn
Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in t ...
won the
Golden Ball, the first time in the World Cup that a goalkeeper was named the best player of the tournament.
![Germany-Argentina DonauArena Regensburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Germany-Argentina_DonauArena_Regensburg.jpg)
Germany again exited in the first round of
Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
, drawing their first two matches and losing the third to the Czech Republic (who had fielded a second-string team). Völler resigned afterwards, and
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...
was appointed head coach.
Resurgence under Klinsmann (2004–2006)
Klinsmann's main task was to lead the national team to a good showing at the
2006 World Cup in Germany. He relieved goalkeeper Kahn of the captaincy and announced that Kahn and longtime backup
Jens Lehmann
Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA Ch ...
would be competing for the position of starting goaltender, a decision that angered Kahn and Lehmann eventually won that contest. Expectations for the team were low, which was not helped by veteran defender
Christian Wörns
Christian Wörns (born 10 May 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. Wörns is widely considered one of the finest German defenders of his generation. He started his career with Waldhof Mannheim but played the ...
being dropped (after Wörns criticised Klinsmann for designating him only as a backup player on the squad), a choice roundly panned in Germany. Italy routed Germany 4–1 in a March 2006 exhibition game, and Klinsmann bore the brunt of the criticism as the team was
ranked
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...
only 22nd in the world entering the 2006 World Cup.
As World Cup hosts, Germany won all three group stage matches to finish top of their group. The team defeated
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
2–0 in the round of 16,
and Argentina in the quarter-finals in a penalty shootout. The semi-final against Italy was scoreless until near the end of extra time when Germany conceded two goals.
In the third place match, Germany defeated Portugal 3–1.
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Austrian Footb ...
was awarded the
Golden Boot for his tournament-leading five goals.
Löw era (2006–2021)
Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012
Germany's entry into the
Euro 2008 qualifying round was marked by the promotion of
Joachim Löw
Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil ...
to head coach, since Klinsmann resigned.
At
UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
, Germany won two out of three matches in group play to advance to the knockout round.
They defeated
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
3–2 in the quarterfinal,
and won their semi-final against
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
Germany lost the final against Spain 0–1, finishing as the runners-up.
In the 2010 World Cup, Germany won the group and advanced to the knockout stage. In the round of 16, Germany defeated
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
4–1. The game controversially had a valid goal by
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
disallowed. In the quarter-finals, Germany defeated
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
4–0, and
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Austrian Footb ...
tied German
Gerd Müller
Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...
's record of 14 World Cup goals.
In the semi-final, Germany lost 1–0 to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Germany defeated Uruguay 3–2 to take third place (their second third place after
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
). German
Thomas Müller
Thomas Müller (; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. A versatile player, Müller has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking m ...
won the Golden Boot and the
Best Young Player Award.
![Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft 2011-06-03 (01)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Deutsche_Fu%C3%9Fballnationalmannschaft_2011-06-03_%2801%29.jpg)
In Euro 2012, Germany was placed in group B along with
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, and
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
. Germany won all three group matches. Germany defeated Greece in the quarter-final and set a record of 15 consecutive wins in all competitive matches. In the semi-finals, Germany lost to Italy, 1–2.
2014 World Cup victory
![Germany lifts the 2014 FIFA World Cup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Germany_lifts_the_2014_FIFA_World_Cup.jpg)
Germany were placed in
Group G of the 2014 World Cup,
with
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. They first faced Portugal in a match billed by some as the "team of all the talents against the team of The Talent (
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
)", routing the Portuguese 4–0 thanks to a hat-trick by Thomas Müller. In their match with Ghana, they led the game with
Götze's second half goal, but then conceded two consecutive goals. Klose scored a goal to level Germany 2–2, his 15th World Cup goal to join former Brazil striker
Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People
Notable people known as Ronaldo include:
As ...
at the pinnacle of World Cup Finals scorers. They then went on to defeat the Klinsmann-led United States 1–0, securing them a spot in the round of sixteen against
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
.
The round of sixteen knockout match against Algeria remained goalless after regulation time, resulting in extra time. In the 92nd minute,
André Schürrle
André Horst Schürrle (; born 6 November 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward.
He began his career at Mainz 05 in 2009, spending two years at the club before a £6.5 million transfer to Bayer 04 Leverkus ...
scored a goal from a Thomas Müller pass. Mesut Özil scored Germany's second goal in the 120th minute. Algeria managed to score one goal in injury time and the match ended 2–1. Germany secured a place in the quarter-final, where they would face France.
In the 2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#France vs Germany, quarter-final match against France national football team, France, Mats Hummels scored in the 13th minute. Germany won the game 1–0 to advance to a record fourth consecutive semi-finals.
![Germany champions 2014 FIFA World Cup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Germany_champions_2014_FIFA_World_Cup.jpg)
The Brazil v Germany (2014 FIFA World Cup), 7–1 semi-final win against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
was one of the most memorable games in World Cup history; Germany scored four goals in just less than seven minutes and were 5–0 up by the 30th minute with goals from Thomas Müller,
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Austrian Footb ...
, Sami Khedira and two from Toni Kroos. Germany's 7–0 in the second half was the highest score against Brazil in a single game. Germany conceded a late goal to Brazil's Oscar (footballer, born 1991), Oscar. It was Brazil's worst ever World Cup defeat, whilst Germany broke multiple World Cup records with the win, including the record broken by Klose, the first team to reach four consecutive World Cup semi-finals, the first team to score seven goals in a World Cup Finals knockout phase game, the fastest five consecutive goals in World Cup history (four of which in just 400 seconds), and the first team to score five goals in the first half in a World Cup semi-final.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup Final, World Cup Final was held at the Maracana Stadium, Maracana in Rio de Janeiro on 13 July, and billed as the world's best player (Lionel Messi) versus the world's best team (Germany).
Mario Götze's 113th-minute goal helped Germany beat Argentina 1–0, becoming the first-ever European team to win a FIFA World Cup in the Americas and the second European team to win the title outside Europe.
Euro 2016 to 2017 Confederations Cup
After several players retired from the team following the 2014 World Cup win, including Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker and
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Austrian Footb ...
, the team had a disappointing start in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. They defeated Scotland national football team, Scotland 2–1 at home, then suffered a 2–0 loss at Poland national football team, Poland (the first in their history), a 1–1 draw against the Republic of Ireland national football team, Republic of Ireland, and a 4–0 win over Gibraltar national football team, Gibraltar. The year ended with an away 0–1 friendly win against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
Troubles during UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying, qualifying for the 2016 European Championship continued, drawing at home, as well as losing away, to Ireland; the team also only narrowly defeated Scotland on two occasions, but handily won the return against Poland and both games against Gibraltar (who competed for the first time). They would eventually win their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group D, group and qualify for the tournament through a 2–1 victory against Georgia on 11 October 2015.
On 13 November 2015, Germany played a friendly against France national football team, France in Paris when November 2015 Paris attacks, a series of terrorist attacks took place in the city, some in the direct vicinity of the Stade de France, where the game was held. For security reasons, the team spent the night inside the stadium, accompanied by the French squad who stayed behind in an act of comradery. Four days later, Germany was scheduled to face Netherlands national football team, the Netherlands at Hanover's Niedersachsenstadion, HDI-Arena, in another friendly. After initial security reservations, the DFB decided to play the match on 15 November. After reports about a concrete threat to the stadium, the match was cancelled 90 minutes before kickoff.
Germany began their campaign for a fourth European title with a 2–0 win against Ukraine on 12 June UEFA Euro 2016, 2016. Against Poland, Germany was held to a 0–0 draw but concluded Group C play with a 1–0 win against Northern Ireland. In the Round of 16, Germany faced Slovakia and earned a comfortable 3–0 win. Germany then faced off against Germany–Italy football rivalry, rivals Italy in the quarter-finals. Mesut Özil opened the scoring in the 65th minute for Germany, before Leonardo Bonucci drew even after converting a penalty in the 78th minute. The score remained 1–1 after extra time, and Germany beat Italy 6–5 in a penalty shootout. It was the first time Germany had overcome Italy in a major tournament. The Germans lost to hosts France 2–0 in the semi-finals, their first competitive win against Germany in 58 years.
Germany qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup after winning the 2014 World Cup, and won the last version of the Confederations Cup after a 1–0 win against Chile national football team, Chile in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup Final, final at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Disappointment at the 2018 World Cup, 2018–19 UEFA Nations League and Euro 2020
After winning all their qualifying matches and the Confederations Cup the previous year, Germany started their 2018 World Cup campaign with a defeat to Mexico national football team, Mexico, their first loss in an opening match since the
1982 World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...
. Germany defeated
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
2–1 in their second game via an injury-time winner from Toni Kroos, but was subsequently eliminated following a 2–0 loss to
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, their first exit in the first round since 1938 and first ever in the group stage since the format had been reintroduced in 1950.
Following the World Cup, Germany's struggles continued into the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A, inaugural UEFA Nations League. After a 0–0 draw at home against France national football team, France, they lost 3–0 against the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and 1–2 in the rematch against France three days later; the latter result being their fourth loss in six competitive matches.
These results meant that Germany could not advance to the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals and faced the prospect of possible relegation to 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B, League B in the next Nations League.
After the Netherlands' win against France, the relegation to League B was originally confirmed, but due to the overhaul of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, Germany was spared from relegation to League B.
In March 2021, the DFB announced that Löw would step down as Germany's manager after UEFA Euro 2020, Euro 2021. Later that month, Germany lost 1–2 at home to North Macedonia national football team, North Macedonia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 2022 World Cup qualifiers, their first World Cup qualification defeat since losing 5–1 to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 2002 World Cup qualifiers and only their third in history. On 25 May 2021, the DFB announced that former assistant manager
Hansi Flick
Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick (born 24 February 1965) is a German professional football coach and former player who is the manager of the Germany national team. From August 2006 to July 2014, he was the assistant coach of Germany under manager Joac ...
will replace Löw as head coach.
At Euro 2020 (delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Germany were drawn with World Cup champions France (to whom they lost 1–0) and reigning European champions Portugal (whom they defeated 4–2, albeit with the help of two Portuguese own goals), with each group having only two guaranteed qualifiers for the next phase, plus a chance for the third-placed team. In the final group match, the Hungarians who took the lead twice, only to draw. Germany then lost 2–0 to England in the UEFA Euro 2020 knockout phase#England vs Germany, round of 16, their first round of 16 exit in a major tournament.
Revival under Flick and 2022 World Cup disappointment (2021–present)
Following Germany's disappointment at UEFA Euro 2020, Euro 2020,
Hansi Flick
Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick (born 24 February 1965) is a German professional football coach and former player who is the manager of the Germany national team. From August 2006 to July 2014, he was the assistant coach of Germany under manager Joac ...
, former FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich manager, took over as coach of the national team. Success only followed from there, as Germany went on to beat Liechtenstein national football team, Liechtenstein, Armenia national football team, Armenia, Iceland national football team, Iceland, Romania national football team, Romania and North Macedonia national football team, North Macedonia in a month's succession. On 11 October 2021, Germany beat North Macedonia 4–0 to become the first team to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League, 2022–23 Nations League, Germany recorded their first-ever competitive win against Italy as the Germans beat the visitors 5–2. This was Germany's fourth game and first win in the league, however the Germans finished third in the group.
[ ]
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 2022 World Cup, Germany were drawn into 2022 FIFA World Cup Group E, Group E with
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, Japan national football team, Japan and Costa Rica national football team, Costa Rica. The campaign started with a shock 2–1 defeat to Japan. Germany drew 1–1 with Spain, and then were knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament, despite a 4–2 win over Costa Rica, missing out on a place in the knockout stages on goal difference.
Team image
Kits and crest
![World Cup 2006 German fans at Bochum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/World_Cup_2006_German_fans_at_Bochum.jpg)
The national team's home kit has been traditionally a white shirt, black shorts, and white socks. The colours are derived from Flag of Prussia, the 19th-century flag of the North German State of Prussia. Since 1988, many of the home kit's designs incorporate details patterned after the modern German flag. For the 2014 World Cup, Germany's kit was white shorts rather than the traditional black due to FIFA's kit clashing rule for the tournament. The away shirt colour has changed several times. Historically, a green shirt with white shorts is the most often used alternative colour combination, derived from the DFB colours – though it is often erroneously reported that the choice is in recognition of the fact that Republic of Ireland national football team, Ireland, whose home shirts are green, were the first nation to play Germany in a friendly game after World War II. However, the first team to play Germany after WWII, as stated above, was actually Switzerland. Other colours such as red, grey and black have also been used.
A change from black to red came in 2005 on the request of
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...
, but Germany played every game at the 2006 World Cup in its home white colours. In 2010, the away colours then changed back to a black shirt and white shorts, but at the World Cup, the team dressed up in the black shorts from the home kit. The kit used by Germany returned to a green shirt on its away kit, but then changed again to red-and-black striped shirts with white stripes and letters and black shorts.
Adidas, Adidas AG is the longstanding Kit (football), kit provider to the national team, a sponsorship that began in 1954 and is contracted to continue until at least 2022. In the 70s, Germany wore Erima kits (a German brand, formerly a subsidiary of Adidas).
As a common practice, three stars were added above the crest in 1996, symbolising Germany's World Cup titles in 1954, 1974 and 1990. In 2014, a fourth star was added after Germany were crowned world champions for the fourth time.
Kit suppliers
Kit deals
Home stadium
![Olympicstadium2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Olympicstadium2.jpg)
Germany plays its home matches among various stadiums, in rotation, around the country. They have played home matches in 43 different cities so far, including venues that were German at the time of the match, such as Vienna, Austria, which staged three games between 1938 and 1942.
National team matches have been held most often in Berlin (46 matches), which was the venue of Germany's first home match (in 1908 against
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
). Other common host cities include
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
(34 matches), Stuttgart (32), Hanover (28) and Dortmund. Munich also hosted noteworthy matches including the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final, 1974 World Cup final.
Media coverage
Germany's qualifying and friendly matches are televised by privately owned RTL Television, RTL; UEFA Nations League, Nations League by public broadcasters ARD (broadcaster), ARD and ZDF. World Cup & European Championships matches featuring the Germany national team are among the most-watched events in the history of television in Germany.
Results and fixtures
Recent results and scheduled matches according to the German Football Association, DFB, UEFA and
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
websites.
2022
2023
Coaching staff
Players
Current squad
The following players were selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
:''Information correct as of 1 December 2022, after the match against Costa Rica.''
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the Germany squad within the last twelve months.
INJ Withdrew due to injury
Individual records
Player records
:''Players in bold are still active with Germany.''
:''This list does not include players who represented East Germany national football team#Player records, East Germany.''
Most capped players
Top goalscorers
Captains
Player of the Year
* 2010: Bastian Schweinsteiger
* 2011: Mesut Özil
* 2012: Mesut Özil
* 2013: Mesut Özil
* 2014: Toni Kroos
* 2015: Mesut Özil
* 2016: Mesut Özil
* 2017: Joshua Kimmich
* 2018: Marco Reus
* 2019: Matthias Ginter
* 2020: Manuel Neuer
* 2021: Joshua Kimmich
* 2022: Jamal Musiala
Manager records
; Most manager appearances
:
Joachim Löw
Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil ...
: 198
Team records
15 consecutive wins in all competitive matches (world record)
Competitive record
*1930–1938 as → →
*1950–1990 as
*1994–present as
Champions Runners-up Third place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
Germany has won the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
four times, behind only
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
's five.
It has finished as runners-up four times.
In terms of semi-final appearances, Germany leads with 13, two more than Brazil's 11, who have participated in every single tournament.
From 1954 to 2014 (16 tournaments), Germany reached at least the stage of the last eight teams, before being eliminated in the group stage in 2018.
Germany has also qualified for every one of the 19 World Cups for which it has entered – it did not enter the inaugural competition in Uruguay of 1930 FIFA World Cup, 1930 for The Great Depression, economic reasons, and were banned from the
1950 World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...
as the DFB was reinstated as a FIFA member only two months after this tournament.
Germany has also won the UEFA European Championship, European Championship three times, the joint-most with
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. France national football team, France and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, with two titles each, are the only other multiple winners. Germany finished as runners-up three times.
The Germans have qualified for every European Championship tournament except for the first European Championship they entered in UEFA Euro 1968, 1968.
For that tournament, Germany was in the only group of three teams and thus only played four qualifying games. The deciding game was a scoreless draw in Albania national football team, Albania which gave Yugoslavia the edge, having won in their neighbour country. The team finished outside the top eight in only three occasions: group stage eliminations in UEFA Euro 2000, 2000
and UEFA Euro 2004, 2004
alongside a round of 16 exit in UEFA Euro 2020, 2020. In the other editions Germany participated in they reached nine times at least the semi-finals, an unparalleled record in Europe.
''See also
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and Saarland national football team, Saarland for the results of these separate Germany teams, and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
for the team that was merged into the Germany national team from 1938 to 1945.''
FIFA World Cup
FIFA Confederations Cup
UEFA European Championship
UEFA Nations League
:''*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided via Penalty shoot-out (association football), penalty shoot-out.''
Honours
Major competitions
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
* Champions:
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
,
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
* Runners-up: 1966 FIFA World Cup, 1966, 1982 FIFA World Cup, 1982, 1986 FIFA World Cup, 1986, 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2002
* Third place: 1934 FIFA World Cup, 1934, 1970 FIFA World Cup, 1970,
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010
* Fourth place: 1958 FIFA World Cup, 1958
UEFA European Championship
* Champions:
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
,
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
,
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
* Runners-up: UEFA Euro 1976, 1976, UEFA Euro 1992, 1992, UEFA Euro 2008, 2008
* Third place: UEFA Euro 1988, 1988, UEFA Euro 2012, 2012, UEFA Euro 2016, 2016
Football at the Summer Olympics, Summer Olympic Games
* Gold Medal:
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
* Silver Medal: Football at the 1980 Summer Olympics, 1980
* Bronze Medal: Football at the 1964 Summer Olympics, 1964,
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
, Football at the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1988
* Fourth place: Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1952
FIFA Confederations Cup
* Champions:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
* Third place: 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2005
Minor competitions
U.S. Cup
* Champions: 1993 U.S. Cup, 1993
Germany national football team results (1990–1999), Swiss Centenary Tournament
* Champions: Germany national football team results (1990–1999), 1995
Four Nations Tournament (1988), Four Nations Tournament
* Third place: Four Nations Tournament (1988), 1988
1985 Azteca 2000 Tournament, Azteca 2000 Tournament
* Third place: 1985 Azteca 2000 Tournament, 1985
Awards
FIFA World Cup awards#FIFA Fair Play Trophy, FIFA World Cup Fair Play Trophy
* Winners:
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
FIFA World Cup awards#Most Entertaining Team, FIFA World Cup Most Entertaining Team
* Winners: 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010
FIFA Confederations Cup records and statistics#FIFA Fair Play Award, FIFA Confederations Cup Fair Play Award
* Winners: 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup#Award, 2017
FIFA World Rankings#Awards, FIFA Team of the Year
* Winners: FIFA World Rankings, 1993, FIFA World Rankings, 2014, FIFA World Rankings, 2017
Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year
* Winners: 2015
World Soccer (magazine)#Men's World Team of the Year, World Soccer World Team of the Year
* Winners: 1990, 2014
Unofficial Football World Championships
* Holders: 31 times
German Sportspersonality of the Year, German Sports Team of the Year
* Winners: 1966, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1990, 1996, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
Silbernes Lorbeerblatt
* Winners: 1954, 1972, 1974, 1980, 1990, 1996, 2014
Gazzetta Sports Awards, Gazzetta Sports World Team of the Year
* Winners: 1980, 1990, 2014
Bambi (Auszeichnung), Bambi Award
* Winners: 1986, 1996
Deutscher Fernsehpreis
* Winners: 2010
:de:Goldene Henne, Golden Hen
* Winners: 2006, 2010, 2014
See also
* Germany national football team results
* Germany national football team manager
* Germany Olympic football team
* Germany national under-21 football team
* Germany national youth football team (includes U-15, U-16, U-17, U-18, U-19 and U-20 squads)
* Germany women's national football team
*
East Germany national football team
The East Germany national football team, recognized as Germany DR by FIFA, was from 1952 to 1990 the football team of East Germany, playing as one of three post-war German teams, along with Saarland and West Germany.
After German reunification ...
* East Germany Olympic football team
* England–Germany football rivalry, Germany–England
* France–Germany football rivalry, Germany–France
* Germany–Italy football rivalry, Germany–Italy
* Germany–Netherlands football rivalry, Germany–Netherlands
Notes
References
External links
*
Germanyat UEFA
Germanyat
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
(archived)
Matches resultsby RSSSF
Most capped playersby RSSSF
Reports for all official matchesby eu-football
{{DEFAULTSORT:Germany National Football Team
Germany national football team,
European national association football teams
FIFA World Cup-winning countries
UEFA European Championship-winning countries
Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf
Laureus World Sports Awards winners
FIFA Confederations Cup-winning countries