Germany's Quest for Euro 2024 Success: A Return to Traditional Strengths

The nation's Football Association Vice President, Hans-Joachim Watzke, emphasized the urgency to rediscover their traditional strengths to ensure a successful campaign.
Germany has had its fair share of disappointment since the 2014 FIFA World Cup. That was Germany's high point in football, and since then, they've not even reached 10% of this peak.
The last two World Cups were a misery for the Germans, where they exited in the first round, including a shocker campaign in the recently concluded Qatar World Cup.
Hansi Flick was in charge of Germany after their Round of 16 exit at the previous Euro. While everything started brilliantly, Germany's form later could have been better.
"We still have the chance to play a good Euro," Watzke affirmed, underscoring the ability of Germany to have an excellent home campaign.
But he stressed that the side needs an overhaul and the time for experiments is over.
German football, at its core, is marked by determination and defending. Watzke highlights that football needs to return to these core values to proceed to a final.
Over the years, the team has evolved to be more on the attack, which eventually resulted in the 2014 success at the World Cup being never replicated.
Their recent defensive struggles are out in the open, with nine goals conceded in the last four games, including losses and draws. The fans' dissatisfaction is evident, and right now, Flick has his future mounting on the friendlies against France and Japan in September.
Another blow came Germany's way when the Women's team saw an early exit from the FIFA Women's World Cup with a single win with Morocco in the group stage.
But confidence here is with the hosts that the Euro will be the game changer.
Having won the Women's World Cup in 2003 and 2007, the side's exit in this year's World Cup in the group stage was a shocker, leaving a massive dent in the team's historical record that they've maintained over the years.
The exit from the women felt like an insult to injury, alongside the struggle from the men's team who exited the Qatar 2022 World Cup in the group stage.
But the official organizing body feels positivity within the country here for the 2024 Euro.
Despite the disappointing performances, Bern Neuendorf, President of the governing body of football, remains optimistic about the upcoming Euro 2024.
In an exclusive with ZDF in Germany, he expressed his views on the plan for Germany leading to the main tournament. He believes the team focuses on their on-pitch work in understanding expectations and preparing to bring back glory.
The four-time world champions do not need any qualification since they are the hosts, and this year's internationals are purely to build momentum leading to the big showdown.
But, the momentum building has yet to go according to plan.
With their recent performances not reaching the desired level, coach Hansi Flick might be in a fix as he needs to get the team to rediscover their winning spirit.
In the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the Germans could get a single win and were eliminated from the group stage.
It was heartbreak.
Adding to that, they've just won three in the previous 11 games that they've played.
The women's team is rebuilding as they prepare for a long-term plan to build their youth program. But, since 2014, there has been no proper development in the team's progress, and it always ends negatively for the Germans.
But now, there can be change. The tournament in Germany can be a perfect setting for them to deliver right in front of their home fans.
Sports events of high stature, such as the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics, and the UEFA Champions League, are by default telecasted in 4K and UHD.
But, surprisingly, the 2024 edition of the Euro will not be in either technology. In other words, fans will only have the high-definition version on their screens when the tournament comes alive next year.
On a scale of importance, the Euro is the second biggest football event after the FIFA World Cup. Resorting to downgrade the picture quality comes as a surprise.
At a time when technology is improving daily, and broadcasters are looking to innovate to enhance the experience for fans with more vivid reality, this event will resonate with viewers around the world.
The rights for the tournament are with BBC and ITV for the regions of the UK and FOX in the US.
But all of them will receive only a high-definition feed (HD).
This move to not accommodate UHD or 4K was announced recently at the Sky Sports Summit 2023 by Karl Petermich, head of Austria's ORF, the country's public distribution agency, after verifying sources from UEFA.
Interestingly, this decision contrasts with the 2024 Paris Olympics, which are set to go with 4k by default. Another event already in 4K is the Super Bowl. The question has been raised about whether European football should follow technology as the rest of the football world evolves in delivery.
While the 4K and UHD move might only affect a selected audience here, it also sets a concern on how the future would look.
While it is a year before the main event, there is still action from Euro 2024 to 2023.
The leagues will break consecutively until December for qualifier action, with the final teams for the tournament still to be finalized.
These breaks will be in September, October, November, and December.
Here are the key dates for the qualifiers in 2023 and the tournament's important match days to mark on your calendar.
7th to 9th September 2023 - Qualifiers Match Day 5
10th to 12th September 2023 - Qualifiers Match Day 6
3rd October - tickets go on sale for UEFA EURO 2024
October - Host announcement for EURO 2028 and EURO 2032
12th to 14th October 2023 - Qualifiers Matchday 7
15th to 17th October 2023 - Qualifiers Matchday 8
16th to 18th November 2023 - Qualifiers Matchday 9
19th to 21st November 2023 - Qualifiers Matchday 10
2 December 2023 - Official Draw
21st March 2024 - Playoff semifinal (to decide final spots)
26th March 2024 - Playoff finals
7 June 2024 - Team submissions
14th June 2024 - UEFA kick-off