Euro 2025: How is Germany shaping up? – DW – 07/02/2025
New coach Christian Wück is leading the team in his firstmajor tournament and has already ruffled some feathers. Wück faced criticism from within the team for poor communication while dropping veteran defender Felicitas Rauch and Frankfurt striker Nicole Anyomi. Despite the snafu, it seems things have been papered over and Germany enter Switzerland in good spirits.
"We're so excited to be here," said midfielder Linda Dallmann as the squad arrived earlier this week. The team is particularly pleased about another change from recent tournaments — Germany's camp is a stone's throw from downtown Zürich, a departure from the past approach of setting up an isolated compound far from any distractions (or things to do).
"It's always cool to be well connected and have some opportunities for the team to get out and about. That's really important over the course of a tournament, so I think this is a perfect location," continued Dallmann.
"It's great — its nice to have our own space, but also good that it's not only football, football, football and only seeing the exact same people all the time, even if we cherish time together as a team. It's always good to be able to get out into the city," said defender Rebecca Knaak, who's preparing for her first major tournament.
Another change from Germany's 2023 World Cup outing should immediately catch fans' eyes. Giulia Gwinn's captain's armband will look different from Popp's: she will be sporting a rainbow armband, which was banned by FIFA in Australia and New Zealand.
'It's great that we'll be able to wear the rainbow armband. If we have the opportunity to wear it when we play, swapping it for something else is never up for debate," said Gwinn.
Captian's armbands explicitly supporting LGBTQ+ pride have a controversial past in German football. In addition to FIFA not allowing them in the last women's World Cup, they were famously banned at the 2022 Men's World Cup in Qatar.
The German team protested this decision before their tournament opener setting off a media firestorm which quickly heaped further pressure on the squad. UEFA has proven more lenient on the topic than FIFA in the past and rainbow armbands are likely to be a popular choice among captains in Switzerland.
'Our team stands for so much, and it's amazing that we can wear our values on our sleeve on such a big stage," said Gwinn.
On paper, this Germany squad looks thin compared to the side which reached the final of the last Euros. The international retirements of Popp, Svenja Huth, Marina Hegering and Merle Frohms have left a deficit of top level experience while Lena Oberdorf, the engine of Germany's midfield, wasn't able to recover from a season-long injury.
Gwinn's role will be crucial in bringing together the new generation. Sjoeke Nüsken, of Chelsea, is another who Wück will look to build his team around while the likes of Klara Bühl, Dallmann and Jule Brand need to make the step up from talented squad members to big game players if Germany are to succeed.
Despite an exceptional goal record of 52 in 75 caps, Lea Schüller has spent her Germany career in the shadows, behind Popp. Her only previous tournament goals have come in big Germany wins against less fancied opposition but Schüller now has the weight of expectation on her shoulders.
With three goals in Germany's last two matches and a hat trick in the German Cup final that completed the double for Bayern Munich in May, Schüller arrives brimming with confidence.
Tournament debutants Poland are Germany's first opponent (July 4) and should prove straightforward if Wück's side play to their potential. After that, it's Denmark (July 8) and Sweden (July 12).
The final group match looks the toughest, with the Swedes unbeaten since a loss to France in July 2024 and having knocked out the USA on a run to the semifinals of the 2023 World Cup. The likes of Magdalena Eriksson (121 caps), Sofia Jakobsson (165) and captain Kosovare Asllani (199) offer huge experience while Barcelona forward Fridolina Rolfö is a top class performer.
Denmark also have one of those in Pernille Harder but appear to have less depth of talent and have struggled at recent tournaments.
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Germany updates: Thousands to join Cologne's CSD parade – DW – 07/06/2025
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Thousands have protested at regular rallies against mass tourism and a housing shortage. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video from Bonn! We are continuing our coverage of news from Germany over the weekend. Anti-tourist graffiti was sited on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Mallorca, a beloved holidaying spot for Germans. Wildfires continued to rage in eastern Germany. Stick around for the latest on these stories and much more from DW. German Education Minister Karin Prien recently suggested she could be open to introducing limits to the number of foreign-born students allowed into German classrooms. The minister is a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Prien, speaking on a recent broadcast of the show Welt TV, said a Danish model limiting the number of foreign students in a given classroom could be one that might work in Germany. 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Germany updates: 1,000 firefighters tackle wildfires in east – DW – 07/05/2025
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German Education Minister Karin Prien recently suggested she could be open to introducing limits to the number of foreign-born students allowed into German classrooms. The minister is a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Prien, speaking on a recent broadcast of the show Welt TV, said a Danish model limiting the number of foreign students in a given classroom could be one that might work in Germany. Without advocating one model or another, Prien — who can only make suggestions as education is a state, not a federal responsibility in Germany — said that the most important factor defining a child's chances of success was whether he or she could speak German. The education minister said she strongly believes in language proficiency tests for pre-schoolers, "because every child in this country deserves to have the same chances." Prien's oppenness to the idea of limiting foreign-born students in schools was not warmly greeted by everyone. Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees, and Integration Natalie Pawlik, for instance, said, "Germany doesn't need classroom quotas," adding that they won't solve the problems the country's education system faces. Pawlik did, however, agree with Prien that every child in Germany should be able to speak the language, whether they are foreign-born or not. She, too, advocated for intensifying language lessons at the pre-school level. Pawlik belongs to the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), which is the CDU's junior coalition partner. Gerhard Brand, federal chairman of the German Education Association (VBE), summed up his view of the matter by assessing, "Confronting a real situation with unrealistic suggestions will not help anyone." German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is set to host his counterparts from neighboring countries for talks on tightening European migration rules at a meeting on Germany's highest mountain on July 18. The summit on the Zugspitze — a 2,962-metre (9,718-foot) peak on the German-Austrian border — aims to give fresh momentum to a tougher European migration policy, according to the Interior Ministry. Interior ministers from France, Poland, Austria, Denmark and the Czech Republic, along with EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, have been invited. They plan to discuss ways to combat people smuggling and improve deportations during the gathering some 100 kilometers (just over 60 miles) south-west of Munich. EU member states have long debated tightening the bloc's common asylum system, known as GEAS, due to be fully in place by 2026. Under the latest reform, countries cannot deport asylum seekers outside the EU if there is no connection to that country — a rule some states want removed. The Zugspitze is the highest point in Germany. It sits on the border between Germany and Austria, in the Bavarian Alps, and is a well-known destination for skiing, hiking and mountaineering. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reportedly held a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, German magazine reported on Friday, citing government sources. There was little information released about the content of the conversation, but the magazine said the two leaders discussed Ukraine, including strengthening its air defenses, and trade issues. The call came after the US announced a pause in certain arms deliveries to Ukraine. For more on the latest from Ukraine, follow our live blog. One of the leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tino Chrupalla, said on Thursday that his party was in talks with the left-wing, anti-immigrant populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) on a federal level. Wagenknecht on Friday denied that there were any ongoing talks with the AfD, however, she said that her party was also open to possible talks. The two parties already held talks in the state of Thuringia following last year's election that saw the AfD come out as the largest party. However, due to other parties refusing to work with the far-right, the state government was eventually formed from the center-right CDU, center-left SPD and the BSW. "Exclusion and speaking bans are undemocratic and a slap in the face of these voters who will only feel more connected to the AfD," Wagenknecht said of the other parties. "The firewall politics has made the AfD even stronger and should not be continued," she added. Wagenknecht formed her eponymous party after splitting from the Left Party after years of discord between her and other parts of the party for her populist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. But the BSW failed to make it across the 5% threshold to get into the Bundestag in February's federal election by a razor-thin margin. The AfD secured the second-highest vote share with 20% of the votes. The comments from the AfD and the BSW come after Wagenknecht said her party will vote with far-right parties in the European Parliament in a no-confidence vote against European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. Other German parties have criticized Wagenknecht for cozying up to the far-right, with Janis Ehling from her former Left Party saying: "Whoever snuggles up with fascists betrays everything it means to be a left-winger." Police have searched 21 properties in Burgenlandkreis in the south ofSaxony-Anhalt and five more in Saxony as part of an investigation led by the Halle public prosecutor's office. Six men aged 25 to 36 have been taken into custody in the two eastern states. Officers seized about 70 kilograms (about 155 pounds) of marijuana, six kilograms of crystal meth, 3.5 kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of ecstasy — with a street value estimated at €1.3 million ($1.5 million). They also found two high-end vehicles, several thousand euros in cash, knives, blank-firing guns and banned fireworks. Authorities suspect organized trafficking of large quantities of drugs and cannabis products. The six suspects are due to appear before a judge on Friday. A new survey of major German retailers has found a rise in theft, committed by organized gangs or by individuals who find it ever more difficult to make ends meet. But some criminologists doubt the figures. Read the full story on the reports of increasing shoplifting cases in Germany here. Following reports that Germany is planning to open a direct line with the Taliban to enable the deportation of Afghans living in Germany, the UN said such a move was "not appropriate." Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Thursday he was open to "making agreements directly with Afghanistan to enable deportations." In response, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said it was "not appropriate to return people to Afghanistan," while speaking to reporters in Geneva. "We have been documenting continuing human rights violations in Afghanistan," she said. Arafat Jamal, who works for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Kabul, said a "non-return advisory" was still in place for Afghanistan. "In other words... the conditions on the ground are not yet ready for returns," he said. "We urge countries not to forcibly return to Afghanistan." Germany stopped deportations to Afghanistan in 2021 when the Taliban retook control of the country. However, amid a rise of the far-right and anti-immigrant rhetoric, the government led by the conservative bloc of Chancellor Friedrich Merz has put deportations high on the agenda. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
DW
2 days ago
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Euro 2025: Plucky newcomer Wales to battle football's giants – DW – 07/04/2025
Two decades ago, Wales' women's team was prevented from playing by their own bosses because money was needed for the Welsh men's games. Now the women are making their tournament debut. They are debutants, the lowest-ranked side in the competition and face the previous two champions in the group stage. But Wales believe they have a few ways to get an edge namely book clubs, yoga and a "Welsh red vein" that runs through the squad. After a string of near misses in previous qualification campaigns, Wales secured a spot at Euro 2025 with a win over Ireland back in December under Canadian coach Rhian Wilkinson. Like many of her players, Wilkinson has roots in Wales that she says run deep. "I think we're starting to see now, as [women's] football becomes more and more professionalized, that pathway players, players with connections to Wales, are now eligible and we're utilizing that more," she told DW. "What I have to balance as the coach is that we never lose that this is a Welsh team with a Welsh red vein going through it. That is critical. We can never lose that connection, that pride and I think pathway players have to feel it, and have to feel it as strongly as native born Welsh players, which I think they do. We've got a great team." After taking over in early 2024, Wilkinson's side lost only one of their 11 games in her first year despite relatively few big name players. "We don't have the player depth and talent pools that bigger nations have," Wilkinson said of a country with a population of 3 million. "But what we do have is a connection to the team, to that sisterhood, to that family that allows them to play at a standard that I think is consistently surprising people, because they'll give everything for their team and their badge." Wilkinson won 181 caps as a player for Canada and has named an experienced squad led by 38-year-old Jess Fishlock. The Wales midfielder was described as "incredibly important" by her coach. When the former FFC Frankfurt, Lyon and Seattle Reign midfielder made her Wales debut in 2006, things were very different. Just three years earlier, Wales had pulled out of qualifying for Euro 2005 after the Welsh Football Association (FAW) decided trips to to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Estonia and Israel were too expensive and the cash was needed for the men's team. The pace of change has been rapid in the two decades since. But while all of the Welsh squad are professional, the domestic league is not, with not a single squad member drawn from it. Welsh players still have to move abroad, most commonly to neighboring England, to make it as a top level footballer. Bethan Wooley, the FAW's strategic lead for women's and girls' football, thinks Euro 2025 will provide a springboard for further change. "People will be able to see our players on the world stage for the first time. It's about visibility and awareness and ensuring that our young girls have somebody to look up to," she told DW. England saw a rapid rise in participation when they hosted, and won, the 2022 Euros and Wooley says Wales have also seen an uptick. But with that comes a race to be ready for a Euros surge. "It's all around ensuring that there's as many opportunities for women and girls, making sure that the facilities are adequate and are appropriate for female participants, and ensuring that we're getting the investment in to be able to put back into the women and girls game, to allow it to flourish in many different ways. This is a huge opportunity for us. There's going to be eyes on our team. We want to make our team household names." But before legacy can be measured, there's a tournament to be played. Wales begin their Euro 2025 against 2017 champions, the Netherlands, on July 5, followed by matches against France (July 9) and England (July 13). It's a tough ask for a side ranked 30th in the world. But the players are ready for the unique challenges of a tournament environment, according to goalkeeper Olivia Clark. "I think it's just exciting," she told DW. "Luckily we all get along really well, and we're a massive family. But we've got a few things going. We've got a little a book club, we've got a little yoga club, and being in such a beautiful place as well, in Switzerland, I'm sure there'll be many things to do. We're quite chill and we're quite relaxed." Wilkinson will hope her squad stays that way as the spotlight grows more intense. Wales are under little pressure to escape such a tough group but social media scrutiny, and more often abuse, has become a constant issue for sportspeople, particularly women. "I encourage them to turn the comments off, and I encourage them not to to read anything," the coach added. Clark, from the player's perspective, is confident the close-knit nature of the group and individually tailored plans for social media during the tournament, will allow Wales to focus on the football and, in the words of her coach, "catch a few people sleeping."
