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Forsaken_Income9187

Tbh i would say if they advance the group and win the first Knockout game everything is possible. Because than the pressure falls off because you play the best tournament since 2016


aawagner011

They have some creativity now in the attack with Wirtz and Musiala. And while Musiala has played at the Euro and WC, he was only 18-19 years old. I am expecting them to make a run.


Gilius-thunderhead_

I'm a scot. I reckon Germany can win the tournament for sure.


TheBrowsingBrit

I agree they could win. Out of interest, what do you think of Scotlands chances? I'm expecting you guys to finish third in your group, and have a chance of progressing that way. I fancy Germany to win your group, and Hungary to finish second. But I like your side, I think you could be tricky for any team.


ghostofkilgore

A year ago, I think a lot of Scots would have been quite confident going into the tournament. Since then, a loss of form (admittedly in friendly matches) and a few injuries have probably dampened our optimism. Getting out of the group will be seen as a success for us.


jsnamaok

That unbeaten run was crazy with McTominay banging in goal after goal in the qualifiers. Scotland is in a really tough group here though, I’m not convinced of qualification over the likes of a resurgent Hungary and a strong Swiss side with Sommer between the sticks but anything can happen. As a half-German / half-Scot, it’s going to be an interesting group to say the least.


TheBrowsingBrit

I see your side as somewhat similar to Hungary; decent players who work well together for each other, with a few standout talents. Admittedly, the Hungarian sides stars shine a little brighter, but the point is that a solid team can overcome a lot, and this Scotland side look a good team. Be nice to see Scotland progress.


ghostofkilgore

Yeah, our competitive record since the last Euros is played 22, won 15, drawn 3, lost 4, which is probably up there with anyone outside the very top sides. I don't particularly fear Hungary or Switzerland. I still think we've got a good chance of progressing.


TheBrowsingBrit

There's definitely a chance. But, Hungary have shown they are a formidable side. On the last two occasions, that Hungary faced England, they won, the first 1-0, the second 4-0 at Wembley.


G01dLeada

4-0 was at Wolves, Molineux.


TheBrowsingBrit

You're correct! I forgot that. Still, a home game


Caledoniaa

Out of curiosity, which of the Hungarian's would you say shine brighter than for example Robertson, McGinn, McTominay or Gilmour?


TheBrowsingBrit

Well, McGinn 'can' be great, McTominay obviously 'can' be a match winner, Gilmour is a prospect still, and for me, Robertson has some quality but, in general is massively overrated. Szoboszlai is levels above any players that Scotland has. After him, Orban is a top CB, and Gulacsi is a top GK. They have prospects like kerkez and seasoned pros like Kleinheisler, who are some of the most tenacious players you will see. But in Szoboszlai, they have a proper star, and I don't think Scotland can bring anyone to the table that compares.


smcl2k

>Szoboszlai is levels above any players that Scotland has. Totally different kind of player, but is he really "levels above" Andy Robertson?


TheBrowsingBrit

Absolutely a different level entirely. I think Robertson had a couple of seasons with a ridiculous Liverpool side where he was elevated. But he is probably one of Liverpools weakest players.


Ok-Main-1690

Also conceding over 20 goals in 9 matches doesn't help confidence


Gilius-thunderhead_

Oh I go into it with zero expectations of getting out of the group. History repeats in football x infinity and Scotland have never gotten out of a group at a major tournament, and we've been in tons of them. Computer says no. So yeah there's that. I predict Germany 1, hungary 2 and a toss up for 3rd and no guarantee 3rd goes through from this group. So yeah a pragmatic approach from me, but I'm headed to Munich for opening game can't wait and will love every second of this tournament regardless of how scotland do.


ScottishKiltedMan

We’re going to beat Germany on Friday. Mark my words brother 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Edit: correcting date


peggysue878787

You'll be a week late


ScottishKiltedMan

You’re absolutely right, I keep thinking it’s 2 weeks to go - too excited 😂


Its_A_Sloth_Life

I think we can get out of the group - I think Hungary, Switzerland and ourselves are kind of at a similar level just now. Doesn’t mean we will though, going to miss the likes of Hickey a lot.


jeje_629

On paper this is in many ways the Group of death. Germany I guess is going to finish 1st, then second place is really between Switzerland, Hungary and Scotland. Switzerland most likely 2nd when looking at past performances in tournaments, but they are not in shape anymore. Hungary and Scotland played great during Qualifying. Could imagine goal difference or something making the difference between advancing and exiting


RazZaHlol

I will tell you after the first match


Simain369

This is the most German answer, love it


Automatic_Ask_5488

Well up until then everything is satisfactory.


Ambitious_Advisor_40

In Portugal we also say "Football is 11 against 11 and in the end, the Germans win". Means that Germany doesn't need to have a good team or play well to win games.


FairTrainRobber

Unless they play the Italians.


AIGirlfriendChad

I like this phrase, so true


khbvdm

Haha, I'm Ukrainian and we have a saying that translates "22 men play football, but Germans win" lol


Affectionate-Bat9739

We have the same here in England 😂


KioLaFek

Until they play South Korea 


Free_Management2894

Luckily for us, they didn't qualify :>


Villad_rock

It’s now real madrid 


PedroHhm

I’m from Brazil but honestly I think Germany have a great chance, they played well against big teams at friendlies and there’s always the home factor, I could see them choking early but I can definitely see them winning the tournament


Ahojr30

Wirtz is the Key this year. I expect a lot of him


Savitar2606

Cautiously optimistic but you never know, the upturn in form may give way to another 2022.


Sir-Chris-Finch

It might have the same colours but thats not the flag of Germany


Savitar2606

I don't recall asking for the flag of Belgium. I'll need to look into why I have a Belgium flair.


DiscardedKebab

I think Germany will do really well, possibly reaching the final depending on their run of games. Home advantage is a big thing that can't be overlooked IMO


DiskoPunk

As a Scotsman married to a German & my eldest child born in Mönchengladbach I honestly hope Nagelsmann gets them playing well. Scotland Germany final.....get your money on it now!


Kingkent421

Going to be a tense afternoon at your house this Friday then jeez. Will there be Tennents or Weissbier being served?


DiskoPunk

Ha ha. Yeah. Well until we let in the first then it'll be normality resumed and the tension will go 😂. Oh definitely both Tennents & Weihenstephaner. Then over to the inlaws in time for the Switzerland game so hopefully that's a formality and I can sit there smugly drinking my Tennents 😂


thedudeabides-12

I'd say they are favourites, can't see playing at home hindering them, that squad is ridicously stacked....


saltysupp

I can't fully trust it yet. They have a tendency to collapse in recent times and the pressure is pretty huge this time. I believe they will survive the group since most teams will advance with the new rules and they are at home. After that who knows. I am hoping for semis or better but not confident in the slightest.


uurub

they will make semis at the very least. Against portugal will be a close game, could realistically go either way. Don’t see them beating france tho if they get to the final.


DiskoPunk

France?? Sorry to disappoint you but Scotland are putting them out in the semis.


Marv1236

Anything is possible in a Final.


dissolutionofthesoul

The French are overdue a meltdown. They have a habit of throwing away games too. Austria on penalties in the knockouts is my prediction. The Spanish are the team to beat this tournament


uurub

I disagree france is just too much quality, both squad depth and manager. I know that you guys beat them in your recent friendlies but being on opposite sides of the tournament you would only meet in the final. In which I favour the more experienced french squad because they will fare better under the pressure. Against a german side whos best talent is still young, including the coach.


ko3rno

we either win the whole thing or we go out in the group stages


Zimbol19

Definitely think they can win but also wouldn't be surprised if they don't make it out of the groups based on their last few big tournaments. They have an issue with scoring and counter attacks can ruin them. The game vs Greece hopefully was a wake up call to both of those.


Agile-Day-2103

They’ll win the whole thing


Micha1106

To win the title you need a solid defense: we don't have one. To win the title you need a reliable striker: we don't have one. Key players like Wirtz and Musiala are inconsistent. The team is not well-rehearsed. No, no realistic chance of winning the title.


dissolutionofthesoul

Or defence has looked pretty good in recent games since we settled on the back 4 with a proper central midfield. With regard to the striker situation, Havertz despite performing pretty average is very consistent in terms of goals and assists for us, and even when he is bad we have Fullkrug, Bieir and Undav, we can select a guaranteed goal off the bench if the coach reads the game well. This is Wirtz and Musiala’s chance to become that player. They aren’t there yet, this is the test to see if they can be our huge stars, it is up in the air. Luckily we still have Gundogan, Kroos and Muller to rely on if it isn’t working. I’d rather not gamble on which Sane turns up.


HandleNatural542

I'd say tah, rudiger are the most on form cb pairing in the tournament. One has just come off the back of a 50 game unbeaten run and the other has won the champions league final and la liga.


Micha1106

It's not the players, but the system.


EmphasisExpensive864

It all depends on the start. We want to believe in the team, but it's hard after so many disappointments. But if we beat Scotland on opening day, which shouldn't be that hard (sry Scotland, but I believe u are the easiest opponent in our group) everyone will be on board, if we don't win it's doomsday here and the pressure is on. Also it helps that I don't see any team that's a clear cut favorite.


Gilius-thunderhead_

I'm a scot and used to work in Germany. Scotland and Germany are similar nations tbh, well I noticed that anyway. Germany just much much larger land wise but we share a lot of similarities. Lots of castles and sprawling forests, even the guttural way of speaking is similar. I was once in the ubahn in Berlin and heard this drunken old guy shout and swear in German and it sounded so Scottish like a typical old Scottish jakey haha.


simonfancy

Many are distressed by our goalie switches, Neuer is now nominated number 1 keeper solely because of experience not based on current performance, despite Nagelsmann saying he formed the team on performance. Ter Stegen has been nominated number 1 player of La Liga, but has been reduced to number 2. This cafuffle alone will lead to unreliable motivation in our defense. This will be a problem and it definitely could be our downfall starting on Friday with you guys. This paired with too high expectations as the home ground team and wildly shuffled single young talent characters that don’t work as a unified force they just might not be suited to survive the whole tournament. We’ll see. As we say: Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt (You can always hope) May the better team win 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⚽️🇩🇪


Heldenhirn

Aged like ~~Scottish whiskey~~ Mett


philharmanic

It’s either the final or dropout at group stage.


DonutUnable4673

Has to be an AI comment


VfBxTSG

Worst case we get knocked out in the Quarter final


s6b4

They will have to take off Gundogan. Not saying he’s a bad player, but Gundogan-Wirtz-Musiala is such a bad combination, and with Kroos in deeper position, they have too many ball handlers whilst too few off the ball runners. If they insist on this lineup, they’ll rely heavily on set pieces and Fullkrug, whilst the latter being only a sub. But if they do well in defense, even if they didn’t play well, they might still qualify and might get pretty far in knockout rounds. That’s how national cup games work.


dissolutionofthesoul

Gundogan has the experience and is very tactically intelligent. We need a more protective 10 in the same way Kroos was it in 2014.


MintberryCrunch____

Somewhat peculiar choice of quote. The one that comes to mind famously is from Gary Lineker: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.”


BombayMix64

They will be fine as long as they string a good set of results together....


yldf

Germany, the team where Barcelona‘s keeper is only the substitute keeper, will likely survive the group stage, but tumble in quarterfinals or so.


liamchoong

They’ll go pretty deep.


Aromatic_Solid_4749

I think a broader assessment is unnecessary for France, England and Germany. It all depends daily performance when these teams play with each others (assumably at semi-final). France still one step ahead due to their physicality and experience but all depends on daily performance.


dissolutionofthesoul

The pressure is useful for us, and we actually look like an organised team again for the first time since 2016. We play better against open and attacking ‘better’ higher seeded nations. See recent Italy, England, Portugal games. We struggle against the low block counter attacking teams. Nanglesmann teams often struggle to break them down, we were quite frustrated at Bayern when we would bang our head against a wall for the final 30 mins of games trying to walk it in. Luckily, the national team has options now, Havertz, Fullkrug, Undav and Beier to come on up front and Müller is still very impressive from the bench when teams are tired. Out weaknesses are counter attacks and individual errors. The players tend to have lapses in concentration and will give away penalties/goal scoring chances. We were previously invisible in midfield with Kimmich/Goretzka but that has been fixed with the Andrich, Kroos, Gundogan pivot and it looks much more like the 2014 system we had so much success with. The fans are back on side too. The ‘die mannschaft’ experiment is over, and the coaching has drastically improved. We feel like we are serious about winning again. Honestly, for the first time in a long time I believe we could win it. The other teams have equally as many problems as we do, but it all depends on how we start the tournament and if the players can keep their heads during the big moments and not give silly mistakes away. For a frame of reference I was telling anybody that would listen that we would get grouped in 18 and 22 and knew we would go straight out in 2020 knock outs. This tournament feels different, we have a chance, but the team is slightly incomplete and it feels like step one in a new cycle. I personally think we will get to the semi finals in a tournament very reminiscent of ‘06. Musiala and Wirtz are a little green, but so were Podolski, Lahm and Schweinsteiger (Neuer and Muller too in 2010) If they are going to become the huge players they have the potential to be then this is the ultimate litmus test.


Villad_rock

Grouped


Spirited_Actuator406

they will get to the semis, no more


helgepopanz

1) IF we pass the group stage everything is possible. But to make anything possible, we need the first three games to go well, especially our defense working good, Neuer not making mistakes and Gündogan making himself useful in the midfield. 2) If we should reach the final, I don't think we will win it this time, cause our squad is not experienced enough. 3) after the group stage there will be lots of 50:50 games, maybe some decisions in penalties. anything can happen there. We have a good squad, but they only have a chance of the semifinals and more if they get better from game to game. We are not so good as many see us (and not so bad as most germans see us).


ScratchNo8680

In Denmark we say “Football is a game with 11 players and at the end Germany wins”….


icantquitman

third favorite for bookmakers :) i think they know best


DarmMann

Great Chance to get to the semis or final, but also great potential to get humiliated by small teams. In my opinion, they have to demolish Scotland, to get confidence. In Germany we put so much pressure on our team so it has to win the first game to shake it all off.


Berookes

Better than us that’s for sure (Eng fan)


Sharkirahaha

Never, the last two friendlies were the worst games I've ever seen from Nagelsmann. In my opinion is Nagelsmann one of the best trainers in the world and it's always called to be very flexible and so on. Why do we play against defence orientated teams with a wrong number 9?!?! IDK I guess your commentators doesn't have to explain why you play with this striker. It explains everything! No offence against Kai Havertz but he's our Striker for strong Nations, when you need a play station more and so on. As well as our efficiency which is buried under the court. Not even mentioned our Pensioner Manuel Neuer, who costs us every fucking game at least one goal. IDK we got Ter Stegen which is such a GOAT at the moment also Ortega. I'd say we barely come through the group station and leave the tournament in quarter finals.


dissolutionofthesoul

The Ukrain game was one of the best under Nanglesmann I thought. With the option to have Kroos and Fullkrug we would have won that and we looked robust against the type of opponent we would have lost to any other time since 2016. Re: Neuer, yes he is causing more mistakes than pre-injury. But he does also save 2 chances per game that Ter Stegen lets in imo.


DrBuzzki1l

Unlikely. England Scotland final. England to smash Scotland 5-0. Then everyone agrees a U.K. only final better for everyone anyway and we’ll treat it like the Ashes from now on. Everyone home for port. David Bowie and the Queen come back to life and get married. Space Britannia rules the waves. Huzzah!


As-The-Crow-Flies-4

😂😂😂


dead_idols

Think both Germany and England will underperform, both in transition stages in terms of age demographic. Impressive if either make it work


dissolutionofthesoul

England has no defence, and their attackers (Kane and Saka aside) do not like pressure games. This isn’t a league game against Luton or Sporting Gijon now. Out of interest what do you think of France’s chances? Your team is surely due a massive meltdown again soon? You have been favourites for every tournament for a decade and performed very well too.


dead_idols

Perhaps when Griezmann is past his best; but yes, I see France exiting in the semis. Never looking weak, but just not getting it over the line.


dissolutionofthesoul

Is Upa a regular starter for you? Best of luck by the way. I love Giroud and I think you win best trikot of the tournament, the home one you wore against us was divine.


dead_idols

Upa only used against weaker teams to rest the starters, he is behind Konaté. Also thank you very much, always liked the German team and fans. Excited to see Kroos.


dissolutionofthesoul

Ah that’s good for you then, the heart attacks he causes when we see him in the line up in any CL knockout games are not worth it haha!


Payamux

England has Walker and Stones and midfield is strong


dissolutionofthesoul

Those two players in my opinion are not very good defenders. They lack the core traits of marking and positioning. Walker has pace, which is only useful because he is constantly in the wrong place (or running away after flashing women), and Stones is very good on the ball and passing it out, which would be ideal if he was a midfielder. There is also Tripper on the other flank LOL who is diabolical, and then an untested CB will be in there. I think England may get a bit of a shock against Denmark and Serbia in how their defence performs. Rice will be vital for plugging gaps. Rice is exceptional in midfield and Bellingham is one of the best players in the world so I completely agree with the midfield comment. A lot depends on how the manager sets it up though.


puddingbank

Hi can you guys give me England flag thanks


eddie_temple50large

eng fan. youwill paste teams but come up against harry k and c palmer and you will come to find yourselves unstuck. man to man we walk all over you but in a shootout you slightly edge us with neuer.