German national soccer team / European championships

Germany

European Championship record scorer:	Mario Gómez and Jürgen Klinsmann (5 each)
European Championship record players:	Bastian Schweinsteiger (18)
Rank:	1
Organizer:	1988
Balance sheet
49 European Championship games 26 wins 12 draws 11 defeats 72:48 goals
statistics
First European Championship game BR Germany 2: 1 Belgium Antwerp ( BEL ); June 14, 1972
Highest European Championship victories in Germany 3: 0 Soviet Union Brussels ( BEL ); June 8, 1972 Germany 3-0 Russia Manchester ( ENG ); June 16, 1996 Germany 3-0 Slovakia Lille ( FRA ); June 26, 2016
Biggest European Championship defeat Germany 0: 3 Portugal Rotterdam ( NLD ); June 20, 2000
successes
European Championship
Participation in the finals	12 ( first : 1972 )
Best results	European champions: 1972 , 1980 , 1996
Best results in the countries where the UEFA European Football Championships are held
(As of November 16, 2019)

The article contains a detailed description of the German national soccer team at European championships . Germany and Spain are record European champions with three titles each. There are also three second places and three other semi-finals.

The national team at European championships

Overview

The German national soccer team has qualified for all European championship finals since 1972. In the first tournaments one was not interested in participating ( 1960 and 1964 ) because national coach Sepp Herberger felt disturbed by the EM when setting up for the World Cup. When Germany first took part in 1968, it was the only time that they could not qualify for a final round.

year	Host country	Participation until ...	opponent	Result	Trainer / team boss	Comments and special features
1960	France	no participation				official name: European Nations Cup
1964	Spain	no participation				official name: European Nations Cup
1968	Italy	not qualified	Yugoslavia and Albania (in qualification)			only tournament to which Germany could not qualify (" Disgrace of Tirana " (0: 0))
1972	Belgium	final	Soviet Union	1st place	Helmut Schön
1976	Yugoslavia	final	Czechoslovakia	2nd place	Helmut Schön	" Night of Belgrade "
1980	Italy	final	Belgium	1st place	Jupp Derwall
1984	France	Preliminary round	Portugal, Romania, Spain		Jupp Derwall	Derwall's tenure ended
1988	Germany	Semifinals	Netherlands	Semi-finalist	Franz Beckenbauer	there was no match for third place
1992	Sweden	final	Denmark	2nd place	Berti Vogts
1996	England	final	Czech Republic	1st place	Berti Vogts	first golden goal in EM history by Oliver Bierhoff
2000	Belgium / Netherlands	Preliminary round	Romania, England, Portugal		Erich Ribbeck	Ribbeck's term of office ends
2004	Portugal	Preliminary round	Netherlands, Latvia, Czech Republic		Rudi Völler	End of Völler's term of office
2008	Austria Switzerland	final	Spain	2nd place	Joachim Löw
2012	Poland / Ukraine	Semifinals	Italy	Semi-finalist	Joachim Löw
2016	France	Semifinals	France	Semi-finalist	Joachim Löw	After victories against Northern Ireland and the Ukraine and a draw against Poland , Germany won the group without conceding a goal. In the quarter-finals, Italy eliminated for the first time in a tournament.
2021	Europe					With the Allianz Arena, Germany provides a venue for three group matches and a quarter-final match, but had to qualify itself against Estonia, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Belarus. This succeeded on the penultimate matchday. Germany will play all group matches in Munich and will face world champions France, defending champions Portugal and a team that has yet to qualify.
2024	Germany	qualified				Automatically qualifies as a host.

EM 1968

For the first time, Germany wanted to qualify for the European Football Championship in 1968. After a 6-0 win against Albania, a 0-1 win in Yugoslavia and a 3-1 win in the second leg on December 17, 1967 in Tirana, a victory against the third-rate Albanian players had to be won. Although national coach Schön called up Peter Meyer, the best striker in the Bundesliga at the time, the game, which became known as the shame of Tirana , was only 0-0, which meant that for the first and only time a qualification for a major tournament was missed. Also due to a broken fibula in January 1968, it was Peter Meyer's only international match.

European Championship 1972

Starting grid in the final

Four years later, the best German team to date became European champions for the first time. After beating Poland, Turkey and (again) Albania in qualifying, León's revenge against England was due in the quarter-finals. On April 29, 1972, there was a memorable game at London's Wembley Stadium. With goals from Uli Hoeneß , Günter Netzer and Gerd Müller , the team won 3-1 for the first time in England. Even the English tabloids, which otherwise tend to be critical of Germany, were enthusiastic about the German team's game. In the second leg in Berlin, a 0-0 win was enough to make it to the finals.

They then traveled to the finals as favorites, as they had already defeated the Soviet Union 4-1 on May 26, 1972 at the inauguration of the Olympic Stadium in Munich.

At the finals in Belgium, they won against Belgium (2-1) and the Soviet Union (3-0), with dream football being celebrated in the final in particular. Unfortunately, the behavior of German hooligans is inglorious - even if this term was not yet common at the time - who rioted through Brussels . Gerd Müller was the top scorer of the tournament with four goals and the top scorer of the entire competition with a total of 11 goals.

Two years later, the German team also became world champions (see German national soccer team / world championships ), making them the first team to succeed in winning the subsequent world championship after having won a European championship title. In the meantime, Spain has also succeeded in this at the EM 2008 and the World Cup 2010 (France achieved it in reverse order at the World Cup 1998 and EM 2000, Spain at the World Cup 2010 and EM 2012).

EM 1976

In 1976 the final round was held for the last time with four teams, and again the German team had qualified. After the World Cup victory in 1974 , the world’s record goal scorer Gerd Müller resigned, and yet there was still a lot going on in Yugoslavia . In Belgrade it came to the semi-final against Yugoslavia, in which they were 2-0 down after 32 minutes. Through the substitution of Heinz Flohe (46th minute), who scored the next goal in the 65th minute, and Dieter Müller (79th minute), who scored 2-2 with his first ball contact in his first international match in the 80th minute , the extension has been achieved. In this Dieter Müller scored two more goals to a 4-2 victory, through which the German team was in the final like four years before. But it fared like the USSR, which was in the final again in 1964 after winning the title in 1960: the title could not be defended. This was not achieved until 2012 when Spain became the reigning European champion.

Against Czechoslovakia , as in the semi-finals, they were quickly 2-0 down, but Dieter Müller quickly made the connection with his fourth EM goal. It was not until the 90th minute, however, before Bernd Hölzenbein managed to equalize 2-2, which meant that extra time came again. After this went goalless, a penalty shoot-out had to bring the decision for the first time in the history of major tournaments (eight years earlier there had been a replay). After the first four Czechoslovak and the first three German players converted their penalties, Uli Hoeneß , who had already missed a penalty two years earlier in the game against Poland, turned on his back and chased the ball into the Belgrade night sky. Then Antonín Panenka made everything clear with a rascally converted penalty, so that the fifth German shooter no longer had to compete. Like Gerd Müller four years earlier, Dieter Müller was also the top scorer with four goals.

EM 1980

Starting grid in the final

After the 1978 World Cup, Jupp Derwall succeeded Helmut Schön. Under his leadership, the German team hadn't lost a game until the 1980 European Championship, even if not all results, for example a 0-0 in Malta, were flattering. She therefore went into the tournament as one of the favorites. At the 1980 European Championship, which was held in Italy for the first time with eight teams and a group stage, the first game was the revenge of Belgrade. In a less spectacular game the German team was able to retaliate 1-0 against the ČSSR, in the second game against the Dutch the German team led 3-0 after 66 minutes with three goals from Klaus Allofs , before Rep (80./ Penalty) and Willi van de Kerkhof (86th) made it exciting again. The German team was able to bring the 3-2 over time. In the final group game, a 0-0 win against Greece was enough to win the group, which led directly to the final. Against Belgium , which surprisingly prevailed against England, Spain and the hosts Italy, Horst Hrubesch made it 1-0 after just ten minutes. But after Vandereycken had equalized in the 72nd minute, things got exciting again. It was only in the 89th minute that it was Hrubesch again who scored the winning goal with a header and thus gave Germany its second European title. And again the top scorer came from Germany - this time the three goals from the game against the Netherlands were enough for Klaus Allofs.

EM 1984

The European Championship in France brought the German team out of the group stage at a major tournament for the first time. After a goalless draw against Portugal and a 2-1 win against Romania, a draw against Spain would have been enough for the German team to reach the semi-finals, and until the 90th minute it looked like that, but then Maceda ruined this dream and thus ensured the premature departure of national coach Jupp Derwall .

EM 1988

The European championship in his own country should give the team boss Beckenbauer , who has been in office since 1984, the first title after the vice world championship two years earlier, but after a happy 1: 1 against Italy in the preliminary round and two 2: 0 wins against Denmark and Spain in the semifinals against the Dutch terminus. Germany had taken the lead with a penalty converted by Matthäus in the 55th minute, but the Dutch also equalized with a penalty in the 74th minute. When both teams had already prepared for an extension, Marco van Basten used Jürgen Kohler's only inattentiveness to score the 2-1 winner. In the final in Munich, the Dutch celebrated dream football and were deservedly European champions.

EM 1992

At the European Football Championship in 1992 an all-German team competed for the first time. The German team had to compete without Lothar Matthäus , who was injured in his knee, and substitute captain Rudi Völler only played one role after a broken arm in the first game. After poor performance in the preliminary round, including a 1-1 draw against the CIS with a goal from Thomas Häßler in the last minute and a 3-1 draw against the Netherlands, the German team was the first to reach their best game against hosts Sweden the final for the fourth time. They went into this final as favorites, because the Danes , who had only moved up through the exclusion of Yugoslavia, seemed to be at the end of their tether in the semifinals, which they won against the Netherlands on penalties. The German team did not find their game in any phase and deservedly lost 2-0. After all, Karl-Heinz Riedle was able to share the top scorer's crown with three other players, all four of whom had scored three goals each.

EM 1996

Azerbaijani postage stamp for the group game against the Czech Republic

Starting grid in the final

Four years later, the team under coach won Berti Vogts thanks to the first golden goal of the EM story by Oliver Bierhoff for the third and so far last time a European Championship and reached the first team for the fifth time in the final. The tournament in England was held for the first time with 16 teams. Germany ended the preliminary round with a 2-0 win against the Czech Republic, in which captain Jürgen Kohler had to be replaced after 14 minutes injured, a lucky 0-0 win against Italy, in which Andreas Köpke saved a penalty, and a convincing 3-0 win against Russia without conceding a goal. In an exciting quarter-finals, Croatia were defeated 2-1, before another penalty crime thriller against England came in the semifinals. As six years earlier at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the German players had the better nerves, so that the Czechs met again in the final. They took the lead in the 59th minute with a penalty and it took until the 73rd minute before Bierhoff equalized. His second goal in extra time then ended the game prematurely, giving Germany their third title and the last victory in a European Championship final game for the next twelve years. As European champions, Germany was also invited to the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup , but decided not to participate. Instead, Vice European Champion Czech took part and finished 3rd.

EM 2000

After a revolt of the players against coach Erich Ribbeck could be fended off, the tournament got off to a bad start. Against the outsider of the group, Romania , they reached a 1-1 draw with great difficulty. In the classic against England, they improved their fight, but lost 1-0 due to a goal by Alan Shearer . This should seal the preliminary round, after all, few observers expected a win against Portugal with a simultaneous draw between the Romanians and England. But since Romania even won, it was all the more bitter that the DFB-Elf had to accept a 3-0 defeat against the B-team of the already qualified Portuguese. This bitter defeat finally sealed the end of the Ribbeck era, whom some referred to as the gravedigger of German football . That, according to Ribbeck, the level at European championships is now higher than at world championships due to the smaller number of soccer dwarves , was also shown in the following European Championship tournament in 2004.

EM 2004

Commemorative stamp from the Faroe Islands on the 100th anniversary of FIFA: Game scene with Fredi Bobic of the qualifying game Faroe Islands-Germany on June 11, 2003 (0: 2)

The team before the last group game against the Czech Republic

Interestingly enough, in qualifying for the 2004 European Championship , the Scots, who were looked after by the former national coach Berti Vogts , were played. Germany was able to qualify in the end, but the games were not confidently played. Only 0-0 was achieved on Iceland, which led to a subsequent verbal argument between team boss Rudi Völler and moderator Waldemar Hartmann .

At the European Championships in Portugal , the team had to return home early. If the German supporters still had hope after the draw against the Netherlands, poor performances in the 0-0 win against Latvia and the defeat against the Czech B-eleven sealed the early elimination. Rudi Völler then resigned from his position. This surprising withdrawal two years before the World Cup in their own country presented the DFB with the difficult task of finding a successor. The coach selection committee formed for this purpose, however, received many rejections (including from Ottmar Hitzfeld , Morten Olsen and Arsène Wenger ). After weeks of searching, Jürgen Klinsmann , who had been recommended to the DFB management by Berti Vogts, finally took over the post .

EM 2008

In qualifying group D for the European Championship 2008, the national team, led by Joachim Löw, played against the Czech Republic , Slovakia , Ireland , Wales , Cyprus and San Marino . The first two teams were qualified for the finals in Switzerland and Austria . Germany qualified with a goalless draw in Ireland three match days before the end of qualification. In the first game of the group stage against Poland, they won their first European Championship in 12 years. The subsequent game against Croatia was lost 2-1, but due to the table constellation a draw in the final game against Austria was enough to reach the quarter-finals. Nevertheless, the team was very nervous against Austria, but were able to win 1-0 with a free kick from Michael Ballack . In the quarter-final match against Portugal, the team showed their best performance at the European Championship and won 3-2. With the same result, Turkey was defeated in the semi-finals, Philipp Lahm scored the third goal in the 90th minute. In the final, the German team had hardly any chances to score against Spain, whereas Jens Lehmann had to thwart several good chances for the Spaniards. But he could not prevent Fernando Torres' 1-0 win and with this result Spain won the title again for the first time in 44 years and Germany became vice European champion for the third time.

EM 2012

Scene from the game against Portugal with Lukas Podolski (right) and João Pereira (left)

In qualifying group A for the EM 2012, the national team met Turkey , Austria , Belgium , Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan . Against the Kazakhs, who only joined UEFA in 2002 and were coached by German coach Bernd Storck in their first game , it was the first international match for a German national team. Germany played against the Azerbaijanis, who were looked after by Berti Vogts , in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. After eight out of ten games that were all won, Germany was the first team after the hosts to qualify for the finals. The last two games were also won, making Germany the only team to achieve ten wins in ten games, which previously only the Czech Republic had achieved in qualifying for the EM 2000 . With 9 goals, Miroslav Klose finished second in the qualifying scorers list.

The German team finished the group stage of the finals in first place after victories against Portugal , the Netherlands and Denmark and met Greece in the quarter-finals, which, like the last meeting in 2001, they won 4-2. The German team set a new world record with 15 competitive game wins in a row. In the semifinals, however, the team failed again due to Italy.

EM 2016

For the first time, 24 teams will take part in the European Championship. For the draw for the qualification groups , which took place on February 23, 2014, Germany was placed in pot 1. Germany was drawn into group D. The teams with the worst UEFA coefficient in these pots were drawn from pots 2, 3 and 6: Ireland , Poland and Gibraltar , which is participating for the first time and against which Germany has never played. From pot 4, Scotland, the team with the third-best UEFA coefficient in this pot, and from Pot 5 with Georgia , the team with the second-worst UEFA coefficient in the pot was drawn.

Ireland were last opponents in the 2014 World Cup qualification on October 11, 2013. Germany met Poland as part of preparations for the World Cup on May 13, 2014 in Hamburg (0-0). Germany last played against Scotland on September 10, 2003 as part of the 2004 European Championship qualification . Georgia was last opponent in a friendly on October 7, 2006. Against all group opponents who have already been played, Germany has a positive record and has never lost a competitive game. The first two in the group qualify directly for the European Championship finals. If the third-placed team is the best third in the group, it is also directly qualified. The remaining third in the group play four other participants in the playoffs.

Germany started the qualification on September 7, 2014 with a 2-1 win against Scotland. After that, despite a large number of scoring chances, a game was lost against Poland for the first time and the equalizer was conceded at the last minute against Ireland. But this was followed by five victories, u. a. in the second leg against Poland, which took first place. The German team only needed one point against Ireland or a win against Georgia from the last two games in order to qualify directly on their own. Since a competitive game was lost against Ireland for the first time, the missing point against Georgia had to be achieved. The Georgians were then defeated 2-1, which made Germany group winners. Germany was able to get the fewest points (4) in the direct comparisons with the two following teams, while Poland got seven and Ireland got five points.

For the group draw on December 12, 2015, Germany was assigned to Pot 1 with the best UEFA coefficient and was therefore unable to meet hosts France or defending champions Spain in the group stage. The team was drawn from qualifying opponents Poland, Northern Ireland and Ukraine, against which the opening game was won. With wins against the Ukraine and Northern Ireland and a goalless draw against Poland, the group winners reached the round of 16, in which Slovakia was eliminated 3-0. Germany met Italy in the quarter-finals and was able to eliminate the Italians for the first time in a tournament - but only in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, in which three German players were unable to convert their penalty for the first time. In the semifinals, Germany met France for the first time at an EM, and thus for the fifth time in an EM semifinal against the hosts. After they had always succeeded in eliminating the hosts, the German team this time had to give way to the French, who won 2-0 despite more possession and scoring chances.

EM 2021

The 2021 European Championship , which was planned for 2020 and has been postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic , will not be held in one country, but in different venues in Europe , with the final in London's Wembley Stadium . With the Allianz Arena, Germany provides a venue for three group matches and a quarter-final match, but had to qualify itself. Opponents in the qualification were Estonia , the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Belarus . The team last played against the Netherlands in the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League , losing in Amsterdam and only drew 2-2 after a 2-0 lead in the second leg in Gelsenkirchen . There were only three games against Estonia, all of which took place before World War II , including qualifying for the 1938 World Cup . Northern Ireland was the last opponent in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup . There was only one friendly game against Belarus, which ended 2-2 in 2008. Shortly before the first qualifying game, national coach Löw announced that he would tackle the qualification without the three 2014 world champions Jérôme Boateng , Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller . The team started the qualification with a 3-2 win in Amsterdam against the Netherlands. After a 2-0 win in Belarus and an 8-0 home win against Estonia, the second leg against the Netherlands in Hamburg was lost 4-2, which means that the Dutch won the direct comparison. This was followed by further victories in Northern Ireland and Estonia, so that the team was able to qualify early for the finals on the penultimate match day with a 4-0 home win against Belarus in a parallel goalless draw between Northern Ireland and the Netherlands. In the final group game against Northern Ireland, the team was able to win the group with a 6-1 win.

At the draw on November 30, 2019, the German team World Champion France, defending champion Portugal and a team from the playoffs were drawn.

EM 2024

The DFB and the Turkish Football Association applied to host the EM 2024 . In the vote by the UEFA Executive Committee on September 27, 2018, Germany was chosen as the host country with a 12: 4 vote, which automatically qualifies the national team.

Player with the most appearances in European championships

Bastian Schweinsteiger , player with the most EM games for Germany (at EM 2012)

Games	player	Year (games)
18th	Bastian Schweinsteiger	2004 (3), 2008 (5), 2012 (5), 2016 (5)
14th	Philipp Lahm	2004 (3), 2008 (6), 2012 (5)
13	Mario Gomez	2008 (4), 2012 (5), 2016 (4)
	Jürgen Klinsmann	1988 (4), 1992 (5), 1996 (4)
	Thomas Häßler	1992 (5), 1996 (6), 2000 (2)
	Miroslav Klose	2004 (2), 2008 (6), 2012 (5)
12	Andreas Brehme	1984 (3), 1988 (4), 1992 (5)
	Lukas Podolski	2004 (1), 2008 (6), 2012 (4), 2016 (1)
11	Lothar Matthäus	1980 (1), 1984 (3), 1988 (4), 2000 (3)
	Michael Ballack	2000 (2), 2004 (3), 2008 (6)
	Thomas Müller	2012 (5), 2016 (6)
	Manuel Neuer	2012 (5), 2016 (6)
	Mesut Özil	2012 (5), 2016 (6)
10	Jerome Boateng	2012 (4), 2016 (6)
	Sami Khedira	2012 (5), 2016 (5)
	Jürgen Kohler	1988 (4), 1992 (5), 1996 (1)
	Toni Kroos	2012 (4), 2016 (6)
	Matthias Sammer	1992 (4), 1996 (6)
9	Thomas Helmer	1992 (3), 1996 (6)
	Mats Hummels	2012 (5), 2016 (4)
8th	Guido Buchwald	1984 (2), 1988 (2), 1992 (4)
	Rudi Völler	1984 (3), 1988 (4), 1992 (1)
	Andreas Möller	1992 (3), 1996 (5)
	Stefan Reuter	1992 (4), 1996 (4)
	Christian goat	1996 (6), 2000 (2), 2004 (0)
	Torsten Frings	2004 (3), 2008 (5)

As of July 7, 2016

Player with the most goals at European championships

Mario Gomez - together with Jürgen Klinsmann, the best European championship scorer for Germany

Gates	player	Year (goals)
5	Mario Gomez	2012 (3), 2016 (2)
	Jürgen Klinsmann	1988 (1), 1992 (1), 1996 (3)
4th	Gerd Müller	1972 (4)
	Dieter Müller	1976 (4)
	Rudi Völler	1984 (2), 1988 (2)
	Lukas Podolski	2008 (3), 2012 (1), 2016 (0)
3	Klaus Allofs	1980 (3)
	Karl-Heinz Riedle	1992 (3)
	Michael Ballack	2004 (1), 2008 (2)
	Miroslav Klose	2008 (2), 2012 (1)
	Bastian Schweinsteiger	2008 (2), 2016 (1)

As of July 7, 2016

Players banned from European championships

• In 1996 Markus Babbel received two yellow cards in the first two preliminary round games and was then banned from the third preliminary round game.
• In 1996 Thomas Strunz received the yellow-red card after repeated fouls in the game against Italy and was suspended for the quarter-final game against Croatia.
• In 2008 Bastian Schweinsteiger received the red card in the preliminary round match Croatia - Germany in stoppage time after an unsportsmanlike behavior against Jerko Leko. So he was suspended for the last group game between Germany and Austria.
• In 2012, Jérôme Boateng received a yellow card in each of the first two group matches and was therefore suspended for the third group match against Denmark.
• In 2016, Mats Hummels received the second yellow card in the quarter-finals and was banned from the semi-finals.

Record against the EM hosts

In eleven European Championship participations, Germany met the respective host six times. In the semifinals, Germany won against Belgium in 1972 , against Yugoslavia in 1976 , against Sweden in 1992 and against England in 1996 . At the 2008 European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, Germany contributed to their elimination with a victory over Austria in the group stage . At the European Football Championship in France in 2016, Germany lost to an EM host for the first time. At the EM 1988 you lost as hosts in the semi-finals to the eventual European champions Netherlands .

Record against the other European champions at European championships

• Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic: 5 games (including 2 finals), 3 wins, 1 draw (1 defeat in the past), 1 defeat, 8: 5 goals (3: 5 in the past)
• Netherlands: 5 games, 2 wins, 1 draw, 2 defeats, 8-9 goals
• Portugal: 4 games, 2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss, 4-5 goals
• Italy: 4 games, 3 draws (1 win i. E.), 1 defeat, 3: 4 goals (6: 5 i. E.)
• USSR / CIS / Russia: 3 games (including 1 final), 2 wins, 1 draw, 7: 1 goals
• Denmark: 3 games (including 1 final), 2 wins, 1 loss, 4: 3 goals
• Spain: 3 games (including 1 final), 1 win, 2 defeats, 2-2 goals
• Greece: 2 games, 1 win, 1 draw, 4-2 goals
• France: 1 game, 1 loss, 0-2 goals

Share of players playing abroad in the EM squad

For the first time at the 1980 European Championship, Rainer Bonhof and Uli Stielike players were appointed to the European Championship squad who did not play in the Bundesliga, although German players who were active abroad and also played abroad in 1972 and 1976 were already in the World Cup , e.g. B. Karl-Heinz Schnellinger , who won the Italian Cup with AC Milan in 1972 and Günter Netzer , who won the double with Real Madrid in Spain in 1976 . The first high point of the deployment of so-called "legionaries" was reached in 1992 when there were 8 players in the squad who did not play in the Bundesliga. This value was only surpassed in 2016, this is the highest number of "legionnaires" ever to have stood in a German squad for a tournament, due to the success of the World Cup two years earlier, as was the case 24 years earlier, when other German players went abroad changed. After 1992 the number decreased again. Most of the legionnaires played in the top leagues in England , Italy or Spain , only four ( Lothar Matthäus / USA , Stefan Kuntz , Mario Gómez and Lukas Podolski / Turkey ) played in other leagues. Oliver Bierhoff and Shkodran Mustafi are the only ones of these legionnaires who only became national players after moving abroad. In contrast to the "legionaries" of the German World Cup squad, not all legionnaires were always used at the European Championships. However, fewer games were played at most European championships than at world championships. In addition, Jens Lehmann was only a "legionnaire" in the squad as a substitute goalkeeper at one European Championship. Rainer Bonhof and substitute goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen are the only players so far who have never played as a "legionnaire", but Bonhof played both games at the 1976 European Championship as a Bundesliga player.

Year (games)	Number (countries)	Players (stakes)
1972 (2)	0
1976 (2)	0
1980 (4)	2 (Spain)	Rainer Bonhof (0), Uli Stielike (4)
1984 (3)	1 (Spain)	Uli Stielike (3)
1988 (4)	2 (Italy)	Thomas Berthold (1), Rudi Völler (4)
1992 (5)	8 (Italy)	Andreas Brehme (5), Thomas Doll (4), Thomas Häßler (5), Jürgen Klinsmann (5), Jürgen Kohler (5), Stefan Reuter (4), Karl-Heinz Riedle (5), Rudi Völler (1)
1996 (6)	2 (1 in Italy, 1 in Turkey)	Oliver Bierhoff (3), Stefan Kuntz (5)
2000 (3)	4 (2 in England, 1 in Italy, 1 in USA)	Oliver Bierhoff (1), Dietmar Hamann (3), Lothar Matthäus (3), Christian Ziege (2)
2004 (3)	3 (England)	Jens Lehmann (0), Dietmar Hamann (3), Christian Ziege (0)
2008 (6)	4 (2 in England, 2 in Spain)	Michael Ballack (6), Jens Lehmann (6), Christoph Metzelder (6), David Odonkor (1)
2012 (5)	4 (2 in Spain, 1 in Italy, 1 in England)	Mesut Özil / Real Madrid (5), Sami Khedira / Real Madrid (5), Miroslav Klose / Lazio Rom (5), Per Mertesacker / Arsenal FC (0)
2016 (6)	9 (3 in England, 1 in Italy, 3 in Spain, 2 in Turkey)	Emre Can (1), Mesut Özil (6), Bastian Schweinsteiger (5); Sami Khedira (5); Toni Kroos (6), Shkodran Mustafi (2), Marc-André ter Stegen (0); Mario Gómez (4), Lukas Podolski (1)

As of July 7, 2016

Records

• Record player: Bastian Schweinsteiger 18 games
• Record participations: Lothar Matthäus 4 × (1980, 1984, 1988, 2000), Lukas Podolski 4 × (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 ) and Bastian Schweinsteiger 4 × (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
• Record scorer: Mario Gómez and Jürgen Klinsmann 5 goals each
• Record goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer 10 games
• Record coach: Joachim Löw 17 games (European record )
• German top scorer:
  • Gerd Müller 1972 with 4 goals
  • Dieter Müller in 1976 with 4 goals
  • Klaus Allofs 1980 with 3 goals
  • Karl-Heinz Riedle 1992 with 3 goals (together with 3 other players)
• Highest wins in European championships:
  •  Soviet Union : Final 1972 - 3-0
  •  Russia : Preliminary round 1996 - 3-0
  •  Slovakia : Round of 16 2016 - 3-0
• The German team achieved their highest victories against the following countries in European championships:
  •  Scotland : preliminary round 1992 - 2-0
• The German team suffered their biggest defeats at European Championship tournaments against the following countries:
  •  Portugal : Preliminary round 2000 - 3-0 (also Germany's biggest defeat at an EM)
• Germany scored the second most goals per game in qualifying matches: 2.42 (as of October 11, 2015)

Games

Brussels A. Belgrade (2) Rome (2) Naples Turin Strasbourg Lens Paris (2) Dusseldorf Gelsenkirchen Munich (4) Hamburg Gothenburg (2) Solna Norrkoping (2) Manchester (4) London (2) Liege Charleroi R. postage Lisbon Klagenfurt (2) Vienna (2) Basel (2) Kharkiv Lviv (2) Danzig Warsaw St-Denis Lille (2) Bordeaux Marseille

Venues (green = positive balance, yellow = balanced balance, red = negative balance, bold = final locations, A = Antwerp, R = Rotterdam, number in brackets = number of games, if> 1)

Germany has played 49 European Championship games so far, of which 26 have been won, 11 lost and 12 have ended in a draw. Draw games had to be extended five times because a winner had to be determined, most often against Czechoslovakia and its successor the Czech Republic (2 ×). It was only possible to win one game in extra time, plus two games on penalties and one game by golden goal . One game was lost on penalties. Germany took part twice (in 1980 against the defending champions and in 1988 as hosts) in the first or opening game of the European Championship.

Germany has had four home games so far and has played the most frequently (six times) against the hosts (5 times in the semi-finals: 1972, 1976, 1992, 1996 and 2016; 1 time in the preliminary round: 2008). Once (1980) Germany met the defending champion, and another will be added in 2021. Germany played four times against the eventual European champions: 1976 (final), 1988 (semi-final), 1992 (final) and 2008 (final).

All EM games
No.	date	Result	opponent		venue	occasion	Remarks
1	June 14, 1972	2: 1	Belgium	A.	Antwerp ( BEL ), Bosuil Stadium	Semifinals
2	June 18, 1972	3-0	Soviet Union	*	Brussels ( BEL ), Heysel Stadium	final	First European title 50th international goal by Gerd Müller
3	17th June 1976	4: 2 a.d.	Yugoslavia	A.	Belgrade ( YUG ), Red Star Stadium	Semifinals	The only European Championship game that Germany was able to win without a penalty shootout or a golden goal in extra time.
4th	June 20, 1976	2: 2 n.V., 3: 5 i. E.	Czechoslovakia	*	Belgrade ( YUG ), Red Star Stadium	final	Franz Beckenbauer is the first German and fifth player to make his 100th international match night in Belgrade's first penalty shoot-out
5	June 11, 1980	1-0	Czechoslovakia	*	Rome ( ITA ), Stadio Olimpico	Preliminary round
6th	June 14, 1980	3: 2	Netherlands	*	Naples ( ITA ), Stadio San Paolo	Preliminary round	first international match by Lothar Matthäus
7th	17th June 1980	0-0	Greece	*	Turin ( ITA ), Stadio Comunale	Preliminary round	with this draw the winning streak of the national team ended (12 wins in a row)
8th	June 22, 1980	2: 1	Belgium	*	Rome ( ITA ), Stadio Olimpico	final	Second European title
9	June 14, 1984	0-0	Portugal	*	Strasbourg ( FRA ), Meinau Stadium	Preliminary round
10	17th June 1984	2: 1	Romania	*	Lens ( FRA ), Stade Félix Bollaert	Preliminary round	500th international match of the national team
11	June 20, 1984	0: 1	Spain	*	Paris ( FRA ), Prinzenparkstadion	Preliminary round	last international match under national coach Jupp Derwall
12	June 10, 1988	1: 1	Italy	H	Düsseldorf , Rheinstadion	Preliminary round
13	June 14, 1988	2-0	Denmark	H	Gelsenkirchen , Park Stadium	Preliminary round
14th	17th June 1988	2-0	Spain	H	Munich , Olympic Stadium	Preliminary round
15th	June 21, 1988	1: 2	Netherlands	H	Hamburg , Volksparkstadion	Semifinals
16	June 12, 1992	1: 1	CIS	*	Norrköping ( SWE ), Idrottspark	Preliminary round	only international match against the CIS
17th	June 15, 1992	2-0	Scotland	*	Norrköping ( SWE ), Idrottspark	Preliminary round	highest victory against Scotland
18th	June 18, 1992	1: 3	Netherlands	*	Gothenburg ( SWE ), Ullevi	Preliminary round
19th	June 21, 1992	3: 2	Sweden	A.	Solna ( SWE ), Råsunda Stadium	Semifinals
20th	June 26, 1992	0: 2	Denmark	*	Gothenburg ( SWE ), Ullevi Stadium	final
21st	0June 9, 1996	2-0	Czech Republic	*	Manchester ( ENG ), Old Trafford	Preliminary round	first international match against the Czech Republic
22nd	June 16, 1996	3-0	Russia	*	Manchester ( ENG ), Old Trafford	Preliminary round	50th victory in a neutral place
23	June 19, 1996	0-0	Italy	*	Manchester ( ENG ), Old Trafford	Preliminary round
24	June 23, 1996	2: 1	Croatia	*	Manchester ( ENG ), Old Trafford	Quarter finals
25th	June 26, 1996	1: 1 n.V., 6: 5 i. E.	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium	Semifinals
26th	June 30, 1996	2: 1 according to the Basic Law.	Czech Republic	*	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium	final	Golden Goal by Oliver Bierhoff ; third European title
27	June 12, 2000	1: 1	Romania	*	Liege ( BEL ), Maurice Dufrasne Stadium	Preliminary round	100th international match by Thomas Häßler
28	June 17, 2000	0: 1	England	*	Charleroi ( BEL ), Stade du Pays de Charleroi	Preliminary round
29	June 20, 2000	0: 3	Portugal	*	Rotterdam ( NED ), De Kuip	Preliminary round	biggest defeat against Portugal; 24th and last international match under national coach Erich Ribbeck ; 150th and last international match by Lothar Matthäus ; 101st and last international match by Thomas Häßler ; 100th and last international game by Ulf Kirsten (49 for the GDR )
30th	June 15, 2004	1: 1	Netherlands	*	Porto ( POR ), Estádio do Dragão	Preliminary round
31	June 19, 2004	0-0	Latvia	*	Porto ( POR ), Estádio do Bessa Século. XXI	Preliminary round
32	June 23, 2004	1: 2	Czech Republic	*	Lisbon ( POR ), Estádio José Alvalade XXI	Preliminary round	53rd and last international match under team boss Rudi Völler
33	0June 8, 2008	2-0	Poland	*	Klagenfurt ( AUT ), Wörthersee Stadium	Preliminary round
34	June 12, 2008	1: 2	Croatia	*	Klagenfurt ( AUT ), Wörthersee Stadium	Preliminary round
35	June 16, 2008	1-0	Austria	A.	Vienna ( AUT ), Ernst Happel Stadium	Preliminary round
36	June 19, 2008	3: 2	Portugal	*	Basel ( SUI ), St. Jakob-Park	Quarter finals
37	June 25, 2008	3: 2	Turkey	*	Basel ( SUI ), St. Jakob-Park	Semifinals
38	June 29, 2008	0: 1	Spain	*	Vienna ( AUT ), Ernst Happel Stadium	final
39	0June 9, 2012	1-0	Portugal	*	Lviv ( UKR ), Lviv Arena	Preliminary round
40	June 13, 2012	2: 1	Netherlands	*	Kharkiv ( UKR ), Metalist Stadium	Preliminary round
41	17th June 2012	2: 1	Denmark	*	Lviv ( UKR ), Lviv Arena	Preliminary round	100th international match by Lukas Podolski
42	June 22, 2012	4: 2	Greece	*	Gdansk ( POL ), PGE Arena	Quarter finals	new world record for Germany with 15th competitive game win in a row
43	June 28, 2012	1: 2	Italy	*	Warsaw ( POL ), Narodowy Stadium	Semifinals
44	June 12, 2016	2-0	Ukraine	*	Lille ( FRA )	Preliminary round
45	June 16, 2016	0-0	Poland	*	Saint-Denis ( FRA )	Preliminary round
46	June 21, 2016	1-0	Northern Ireland	*	Paris ( FRA )	Preliminary round
47	June 26, 2016	3-0	Slovakia	*	Lille ( FRA )	Round of 16
48	02nd July 2016	1: 1 n.V .; 6: 5 i. E.	Italy	*	Bordeaux ( FRA )	Quarter finals
49	0July 7, 2016	0: 2	France	A.	Marseille ( FRA )	Semifinals
	June 15, 2021		France	H	Munich , Allianz Arena	Preliminary round
	June 19, 2021		Portugal	H	Munich , Allianz Arena	Preliminary round
	June 23, 2021		NN	H	Munich , Allianz Arena	Preliminary round

See also

• German national soccer team at world championships
• German national soccer team at the Olympic Games
• German national soccer team for women / European championships

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Won two games on penalties and lost one
2. ↑ In the spotlight: Gomez, Nowitzki and a possible record. In: dfb.de. German Football Association , June 22, 2012, accessed on September 8, 2014 . 
3. ↑ Draw for the EURO qualification: Pot 1 in focus. In: uefa.com. UEFA , February 20, 2014, accessed March 11, 2014 . 
4. ↑ DFB.de: Record against Scotland
5. ↑ DFB.de: Record against Portugal
6. ↑ dpa : 15th competitive game win in a row: Germany creates record. (No longer available online.) In: echo-online.de. Darmstädter Echo , June 22, 2012, archived from the original on October 12, 2013 ; Retrieved September 11, 2013 .