Germany secure Nations League final four after wild draw
Maybe it was the 30-minute happy hour on all food and drink for the fans in Dortmund that did it. Maybe it was Joshua Kimmich's quick thinking from the corner flag. Or maybe it was just that Julian Nagelsmann's Germany did just enough when it mattered to advance. Whatever it was, the momentum behind this team continues to build.
Three days after the impressive performance in Milan, Germany drew 3-3 with Italy (5-4 on aggregate) to secure the final four of the Nations League, a tournament which they will also host. Nagelsmann's vision of following in the footsteps of Spain — who won the Nations League in 2023 to set up their Euro win last summer — is well and truly alive, even if it wobbled in a game the hosts unnecessarily turned wild.
Germany looked to have decided the tie early, as Joshua Kimmich scored one and set up another two by the break. But a slip in the second half by the Bayern man opened the door for Italy, who gleefully took advantage to make for a nervy finale. Italy coach Luciano Spalletti said his team would have to do the impossible to progress, and, despite a rousing second half, so it proved.
Nagelsmann will feel aggrieved that the second half followed the first, but he will also know that an unusual slip and unlucky handball played a key role in helping Italy. His Germany team remains strong, and they will have another chance to prove it this summer.
It would be easy to dismiss the increasing success of this team as just another football team doing well, but Julian Nagelsmann's team returning to form plays a relevant part in a country entering a new era under new leadership and at a time of global tension. The success of and excitement around the team lifts the mood, perhaps only briefly on a Sunday evening, but it also acts a reminder of the value of sport in wider society.
This week, Julian Nagelsmann lamented sports' current standing in schools, kindergartens and wider society, saying it was currently too low. There are nearly 90,000 sports clubs in the country, but a recent survey on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health found that only 22% of boys and 21% of girls get the 60 minutes of exercise per day recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Almost 80 percent do not reach this mark.
Everyone is "a little more busy with themselves," Nagelsmann said. "That's why I would like the importance of exercise and sport to be greater than it currently is. Because I believe that it is good for people and children and also brings them together."
This isn't about everyone becoming a Germany international, but rather about the idea of joy and movement being forgotten. Nagelsmann's Germany is reminding everyone of that, game by game. And, perhaps in the process, this Germany team is aiding sport's standing in wider society.
Having won the tie, Germany have also avoided a bigger World Cup qualifying group. The road to the USA; Canada and Mexico now starts in September with trips to Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg.
Before all of that though, is a second straight summer fairytale. The Champions League final and the Nations League final four in Munich all in the space of eight days in June — what a summer lies in store for football in Germany and Nagelsmann's national side are at the forefront of it.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
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