Director Völler optimistic Germany can play successful Euro 2024
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German Football Federation (DFB) sporting director Rudi Völler is optimistic for the Euro 2024 and believes that Germany will play a successful tournament on home soil despite the recent disappointing results.
"We want to get the people behind us with elegance, fighting spirit and will to win," Völler said at an event on Wednesday to mark 100 days until the Euro 2024 with tournament organizer Philipp Lahm and German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser.
Germany won just three of their 11 games in 2023 which has led to fears the team could also flop at the home Euros. They went out in the group stage of the last two World Cups and in the last 16 of the last Euros.
But Völler is confident that Julian Nagelsmann, "a top coach," and "young talents as well as a lot of talent up front and in midfield" will lead Germany to a successful home tournament.
"We want to perform against Scotland the way the whole nation hopes we will. We want to create euphoria from the very first game," Völler said referring to the opening game on June 14.
Germany also face Hungary on June 19 and Switzerland on June 23 in the group stage.
Völler, however, still sees potential for improvement in defence. "We need to become more stable," he said.
Former Germany captain Lahm, meanwhile, hopes to create the same atmosphere from the 2006 World Cup, which is widely known in Germany as "summer fairytale."
"Of course it's helpful if there's a Germany team that performs as a team that the fans can identify with," the 2014 World Cup champion said.
German Minister of the Interior Faeser, who's in charge of sports, appealed to all fans to make the Euros a celebration of togetherness in turbulent times.
"The tournament offers a great opportunity to come together and celebrate a peaceful European football festival - especially in these times of threats from Russia and extremism," she told dpa.
The tournament will stand for the participation of all people "and against exclusion, racism and anti-Semitism," Faeser said.
