Things have been up and down under Christian Wück but five wins out of six this year means the quarter-finals are in sight
This article is part of the Guardian’s Euro 2025 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 16 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from two teams each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 2 July.
The past few years have seen Germany lose a European Championship final, exit the 2023 World Cup at the group stage, and finish third at the Olympics. Which begs the question: how good (or bad) is the German national team? No one seems to know, not even the players, as some of them have admitted.
The past two years have also been a period of upheaval. The urgently needed analysis of the World Cup had to wait, as Martina Voss-Tecklenburg took a break but remained in post. She later revealed that she had suffered from depression and panic attacks before the World Cup. Voss-Tecklenburg’s departure was eventually announced in November, with the DFB saying a fresh start was needed.
Horst Hrubesch was appointed interim coach and they finished third at Paris 2024 but did not always play well. Several important players – such as Alexandra Popp, Svenja Huth, Marina Hegering and Merle Frohms – retired from international duty after the Olympics.
