Loud applause resonates in the Allianz Arena in Munich, despite the stands being three-quarters empty. The kickoff of the inaugural Euro 2024 football match between Germany and Scotland will not be given until an hour and a half later. The warm-up isn’t even on yet. However, the Mannschaft players decided to come and take to the pitch. Just to take stock of the event.
The first match of a tournament is one of the most important because it allows a dynamic to begin between the public and their team, the captain, Ilkay Gündogan, said at a press conference the day before. This is all the more true when we talk about the host nation of the competition, whose selection, in search of redemption, dreams of recreating the magic of the 2006 World Cup at home, marked by incredible popular enthusiasm and a 3e final place.
A few hours after their impromptu stroll, Ilkay Gündogan and his teammates were able to savor the moment by communing with a stadium that was now full. The Germans successfully entered the fray. In style: a 5-1 victory against the Tartan Army.
“We felt this energy in the stadium”
Until then, the festive atmosphere which surrounded the launch of Euro 2024 had mainly been caused by Scottish fans. Earlier in the day, the city center of Bavaria’s capital seemed overwhelmed by a wave of tartans and blue jerseys. In the Allianz Arena, they found themselves outnumbered for the first time, drowned in the white and pink version of the Mannschaft tunics.
Julian Nagelsmann asked the locals to speak up. “ [Pour ce match]but also throughout the tournamentsaid the coach. It’s important for us to feel the advantage of playing at home. » At the risk, he assumed, of no longer being able to communicate with his players during the meeting. The leader has been granted.
The tribute to legend Franz Beckenbauer, who led West Germany to triumph at the European Championship in 1972 and the World Cup in 1974 before winning the World Cup in 1990 as coach, at the The occasion of the presentation of the Henri Delaunay trophy by his wife served as an appetizer.
“I think we felt this energy in the stadium from the first minutewill explain center forward Kai Havertz after the game. We set the pace, the supporters were there. The goals fell, which also felt good. » Five then, accompanied by explosions of joy in the aisles of the Allianz Arena.
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