Euro 2024 is set to commence on June 14th, with Germany set to face Scotland at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
It will also mark the first time since 2006 that Germany has hosted an international tournament, when Italy were crowned world champions after defeating France on penalties in Berlin.
However, while hosting an international football tournament would normally lead to feelings of jubilation and excitement coursing through a nation, instead, there is nervousness and hesitancy for German fans regarding the national team.
Having been eliminated at the Group Stage at the last two World Cups, as well as exiting Euro 2020 at the Round of 16 stage to England, Germany have experienced a tough time in recent tournaments.
Nevertheless, with Hansi Flick being replaced by Julian Nagelsmann in late September, there was hope that positive change would be around the corner.
Nonetheless, two defeats in their last two international friendlies suggest that Nagelsmann is still struggling to find his best starting XI.
Therefore, in a survey conducted by Sky Germany, fans of the German National Team have been able to have their say on what the starting XI should be for the upcoming 2024 European Championships in a 4-3-3 formation.
The fans’ preferred XI:
Manuel Neuer (60%) – Niklas Süle (29%), Mats Hummels (52%), Antonio Rüdiger (44%), Robin Gosens (28%) – Joshua Kimmich (45%), Leon Goretzka (39%), Jamal Musiala (43%) – Thomas Müller (41%), Niclas Füllkrug (43%), Leroy Sané (41%).
This would see a total of six changes from the last starting XI used by Nagelsmann, as well as most notably seeing captain İlkay Gündoğan drop out of the side.
As well as this, when voting for possible alternatives, Toni Kroos (37%) and Julian Brandt (32%) were preferred to Gündoğan with also (32%) of the votes.
With just two friendly matches remaining until their clash with Scotland, there is not much time for Nagelsmann to find the desired solutions, so maybe listening to the public could prove beneficial.
GGFN | Will Shopland
