Why new-look Germany are Euro 2025 'dark horses'

BBC News

a day ago

Germany's group-stage exit at the 2023 Women's World Cup was both shocking and humiliating for one of the pre-tournament favourites.The two-time world champions exited the competition 17 days before the final after failing to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history.Three years later, Germany are a team transformed with fresh faces and head to Euro 2025 with a new manager in Christian Wuck."I am still in contact with a few players and it seems to be that they are a really close team already," former Germany midfielder Lina Magull told BBC Sport. "They are excited for the tournament. I do feel that there is a lot of excitement."In general, everything is getting closer and Germany have something special again now. I do think they are kind of favourites."So what are Germany's chances in Switzerland? How does their squad compare to the squad that reached the final in 2022? And is there a feeling they can win a first major title in 12 years?
It was announced in March 2024 that Wuck - a former Germany youth player - would succeed interim boss Horst Hrubesch after the 2024 Olympics in Paris.Wuck worked with the German Football Federation for more than a decade and won both the Under-17 World Cup and European Championship with Germany's men.This is his first managerial role in the women's game and Magull said the 52-year-old is "a quiet coach and a quiet leader"."At the start it was quite hard for him to understand the women's mind and how it is to work with adults," she added."There were maybe some rules which were not there before which you don't need at this age. I think over the last month he learned a lot about that. He is very focused on the team with clear communication. That is good for Germany."Wuck has overseen 10 games with the women's team, winning seven, losing two and drawing one.His first game in charge was a seven-goal thriller against England at Wembley in October, in which the Germans raced to a 3-0 lead within half an hour before winning 4-3 in a rematch of the Euro 2022 final.
'Germany were back on the international stage'
Magull was not in the Germany squad for their friendly win over England, but played a pivotal role in their route to the Euro 2022 final.Voss-Tecklenburg's side arrived at the tournament struggling for form and having suffered a quarter-final exit at the 2019 World Cup in France."We were not the favourites, but we didn't care what other people said about us," Magull said."From the first game, we realised we can have a great tournament and maybe surprise some other nations."Germany went on to win every game en route to the final, conceding just one goal along the way.They lost their captain and the tournament's joint-top scorer Alexandra Popp to injury in the pre-match warm-up, and despite facing England in front of a home crowd "it didn't feel like we were the underdogs," said Magull."Going into the final was really special. Unfortunately we didn't win, but for us in Germany it was a big step. It was sad, but a proud ending for us."Magull stunned Wembley after hitting a first-time finish beyond Mary Earps in the 79th minute to level the tie and give Germany the momentum going into extra time.Ultimately, it only delayed celebrations for the Lionesses, with Chloe Kelly scoring the winner to secure their first major women's tournament triumph."It was one of the best moments in my football life," Magull recalled. "In the end when you lose it doesn't mean so much, but I cannot lie - it was very special."We didn't know then, but in Germany everyone was speaking about us. So many people were surprised that we could start a new era in Germany. Before the tournament we were not favourites, but after everyone thought Germany were back in the game on the international stage."
'We had to change something'
Germany's momentum after Euro 2022 was abruptly halted in what can only be described as a rollercoaster 12 months."After losing to England we all thought 'OK, Germany can fight for titles again'," Germany football journalist Alejandro Diago told BBC Sport. "But one year later it came crashing down with a terrible World Cup exit."A draw with South Korea in Brisbane saw Voss-Tecklenburg's side suffer an early exit."It's hard to say in words but it is just the worst feeling ever when you cannot show up like you did just one year before," Magull said."It was a big disappointment and that was a sign that we had to change something."And then the changes came.Voss-Tecklenburg left her role by mutual consent in November 2023 and Horst Hrubesch arrived on an interim basis to steady the ship, guiding Germany to a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics."Hrubesch was the evident solution to put Germany back on track," Daigo said. "Since the first moments he won the locker room, he won the trust of the players and they [had] a very good tournament."Magull was not picked to represent Germany in Paris and in March 2025 she made the difficult decision to announce her international retirement.Along with Alexandra Popp, Svenja Huth, Melanie Leupolz, Marina Hegering, Sara Doorsoun and Merle Frohms, Magull is one of seven players from Germany's 2023 World Cup squad to have called time on their international careers and will not feature at Euro 2025.Germany will also be without Bayern Munich midfielder Lena Oberdorf in Switzerland, who is still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury."A huge amount of important players have retired," Diago said. "It's a new era, a new coach and we are seeing even with the controversies and not calling up players which made a small fire inside the locker room, results are with Wuck."He is putting in some youngsters and Germany are playing in a solid way. As a new group, they want to make history and I think they can."
'There is something brewing'
There may be fewer familiar faces for Germany at Euro 2025, but the squad captained by Giulia Gwinn has shown huge promise and recently booked their place in the Nations League semi-finals.England's record women's goalscorer Ellen White - who played against Germany in the 2022 final - believes Wuck's side are one of the favourites."They are very well-structured, technically very gifted, strong, powerful," she said."They know how to win football matches, they know how to almost rattle you at the same time. They have got everything it takes to win a major tournament."I have seen their Nations League games and wow – they have blown a lot of teams out of the water. They have an amazing youth and a sense of freedom. The way they are able to beat the press, go through the lines with free-flowing football was really nice to watch. It's great for Germany and scary for everyone else."Former Lionesses defender Anita Asante believes Germany are going "under the radar"."Historically they have this huge legacy. The new generation are coming through and there is something brewing there," she added.Germany may be quietly going about their business, but Diago believes this could be their year."Germany are a dark horse of the tournament," he said. "There is expectancy around what they can do. Germany has a proper team to compete in the Euros."Let's see if they can go and win it."