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DFB-Elf: First revenge against Japan, then trip to the USA
May 30, 2023, 5:11 p.m
A colorful autumn awaits the German national soccer team: On the way to the European Championships at home, the DFB team will compete with Japan, runner-up France and go on a trip to the USA. Especially the reunion with “Samurai Blue” should cause excitement after the messed up World Cup in Qatar.
The German senior men’s national team will meet vice world champions France and Japan on their way to the European Championships in their own country. This is reported by the German Football Association (DFB). The two home games will take place in Dortmund and Wolfsburg in September. In October, the team headed by national coach Hansi Flick will travel to the United States, one of the organizers of the upcoming World Cup, and will measure themselves against the World Cup host USA and another opponent.
The game against four-time Asian champions Japan, Germany’s last World Cup opponent in Qatar, will take place on September 9 in the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg. RTL broadcasts live on free TV (8.45 p.m.) when Hansi Flick’s men seek revenge for the lost opening game (1: 2) of the World Cup in Qatar, which heralded the debacle in the desert. The discussion about the One Love motif on Manuel Neuer’s captain’s armband had taken up a lot of space before and during the World Cup and was ultimately led in the DFB team to the mouth-to-mouth gesture at the team photo against Japan, which caused a stir.
The endurance test of the German selection on October 14 in Hartford, Connecticut against the USA (9 p.m.), one of the host countries of the World Cup 2026, will also be free-to-air. It has not yet been decided who will broadcast the game against two-time world and two-time European champions France, most recently runners-up in Qatar, on September 12 (from 9 p.m.) in Dortmund, one of the ten venues of UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany.
Völler is already preparing for the World Cup in the USA
“For me, the games against Japan and France are very special highlights in our preparation plan for the European Championships in our own country,” said national coach Flick on the DFB website. “France, as vice world champions and world champions in 2018, is one of the top favorites for the European Championship title. We’re looking forward to what is sure to be a great crowd in the Dortmund stadium. With Japan, we’re expecting another very strong opponent, as the World Cup showed.” The USA would be “highly motivated” to host the World Cup and the game in Hartford was also “a very attractive challenge in terms of atmosphere”.
DFB sporting director Rudi Völler added that it was important “to have a presence in the USA in view of the upcoming World Cup, to hold talks and make contacts.” Even if everyone is looking forward to the European Championships at home next year, “optimal conditions” should already be created for the tournament afterwards.
The German national team has played against France 32 times so far. The most recent game, the opening game in Group F of the Euro 2020, was won by France 1-0 in Munich in June 2021. Overall, the national team has won nine times so far, eight games ended in a draw, and France has won 15 times. Germany have met the United States eleven times so far, most recently losing 2-1 in Cologne in June 2015. Overall, the DFB team won seven duels, the USA four.