Early years (1899–1942) On 18 April 1897, an early international game on
German soil was played in
Hamburg when a selection team from the
Danish Football Association defeated a selection team from the Hamburg-Altona Football Association, 5–0. Between 1899 and 1901, prior to the formation of a national team, there were five international matches between Germany and
English selection teams, which are today not recognised as official by either nation's football association (in part because England fielded their
amateur side, which was an overflow or B team). All five matches ended in large defeats for the Germany teams, including a 12–0 loss at
White Hart Lane in September 1901. Eight years after the establishment of the
German Football Association (DFB) in 1900, the first official match of the Germany national football team was played on 5 April 1908, against
Switzerland in
Basel, with the Swiss winning 5–3. and resulted in Germany's largest official defeat to date: 9–0 (this time, the match was recognised and recorded as official by the DFB but not by the
FA, again due to the amateur side being fielded).
Julius Hirsch was the first Jewish player to represent the Germany national football team, which he joined in 1911. Hirsch scored four goals for Germany against the Netherlands in 1912, becoming the first German to score four goals in a single match.
Gottfried Fuchs scored a world record 10 goals for Germany in a 16–0 win against
Russia at the
1912 Olympics in Stockholm on 1 July, becoming the top scorer of the tournament; his international record was not surpassed until 2001 when
Australia's
Archie Thompson scored 13 goals in a
31–0 defeat of
American Samoa. He was Jewish, and the German Football Association erased all references to him from their records between 1933 and 1945. As of 2016, he was still the top German scorer for one match. At that time the players were selected by the DFB, as there was no dedicated coach. The first manager of the Germany national team was
Otto Nerz, a school teacher from
Mannheim, who served in the role from 1926 to 1936. The German FA could not afford travel to Uruguay for the first World Cup staged in
1930 during the
Great Depression, but finished third in the
1934 World Cup in their first appearance in the competition. After a poor showing at the
1936 Olympic Games in Berlin,
Sepp Herberger became coach. In 1937 he put together a squad which was soon nicknamed the
Breslau Elf (
the Breslau Eleven) in recognition of their 8–0 win over Denmark in the then German city of Breslau,
Lower Silesia (now
Wrocław, Poland). After
Austria became part of
Germany in the
Anschluss of March 1938, the
Austrian national team – one of Europe's best sides at the time due to professionalism – was disbanded despite having already qualified for the
1938 World Cup.
Nazi politicians ordered five or six ex-Austrian players, from the clubs
Rapid Vienna,
Austria Vienna, and
First Vienna FC, to join the "all-German" team on short notice in a staged show of unity for political reasons. At the 1938 World Cup in France, this "united" Germany national team managed only a 1–1 draw against Switzerland and then lost the replay 2–4 in front of a hostile crowd in Paris. That early exit stands as Germany's worst World Cup result, and one of just three occasions the team failed to progress from the group stage – the next would not occur until the
2018 tournament, and it would be repeated in
2022. During
World War II, the team played over 30 international games between September 1939 and November 1942. National team games were then suspended, as most players had to join the armed forces. Many of the national team players were gathered together under coach Herberger as
Rote Jäger through the efforts of a sympathetic air force officer trying to protect the footballers from the most dangerous wartime service.
Three German national teams (1945–1990) After World War II, Germany was banned from competition in most sports until 1950. The DFB was not a full member of FIFA, and none of the three new German states –
West Germany,
East Germany, and
Saarland – entered the
1950 World Cup qualifiers. The Federal Republic of Germany, which was referred to as West Germany, continued the DFB. With recognition by FIFA and UEFA, the DFB maintained and continued the record of the pre-war team.
Switzerland was the first team that played West Germany in 1950, with the latter qualifying for the
1954 World Cup and the former hosting it. The
Saarland, a French protectorate between 1947 and 1956, did not join French organisations, and was barred from participating in pan-German ones. It sent
their own team to the
1952 Summer Olympics and the
1954 World Cup qualifiers. In 1957, Saarland acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1949, the
communist German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was founded. In 1952 the
Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR (DFV) was established and the
East Germany national football team took to the field. They were the only team to beat the
1974 FIFA World Cup-winning West Germans in the
only meeting of the two sides of the divided nation. East Germany won the gold medal at the
1976 Olympics. After
German reunification in 1990, the eastern football competition was reintegrated into the DFB.
1954 World Cup victory scored the winning goal in the 1954 FIFA World Cup final. West Germany, captained by
Fritz Walter, met in the 1954 World Cup against
Turkey,
Yugoslavia and
Austria. When playing favourites
Hungary in the group stage, West Germany lost 3–8, and faced the Hungarian
"Mighty Magyars" again in the
final. Hungary had gone unbeaten for 32 consecutive matches, and West Germany snapped the streak by winning 3–2, with
Helmut Rahn scoring the winning goal. The success is called "The Miracle of Bern" (
Das Wunder von Bern).
Memorable losses: Wembley goal and game of the century (1958–1970) After finishing fourth in the
1958 World Cup and only reaching the quarter-finals
four years later, the DFB made changes. Professionalism was introduced, and the best clubs from the various Regionalligas were assembled into the new
Bundesliga. In 1964,
Helmut Schön took over as coach, replacing Herberger who had been in office for 28 years. In the
1966 World Cup, West Germany reached the final after beating the
USSR in the semi-final, facing hosts
England. In extra time, the first goal by
Geoff Hurst was one of the most contentious goals in the history of the World Cup: the linesman signalled the ball had crossed the line for a goal, after bouncing down from the crossbar, when replays showed it did not appear to have fully crossed the line. Hurst then scored another goal giving England a 4–2 win. West Germany knocked England out in the
1970 World Cup quarter-finals 3–2, before they suffered a 4–3 extra-time loss in the semi-final against
Italy. This match with five goals in extra time is one of the most dramatic in World Cup history, and is called the "
Game of the Century" in both Italy and Germany. West Germany claimed third place by beating
Uruguay 1–0.
Gerd Müller finished as the tournament's top scorer with 10 goals.
1974 World Cup title on home soil on 7 July, in
Munich's
Olympiastadion In 1971,
Franz Beckenbauer became captain of the national team, and he led West Germany to victory at the European Championship at
Euro 1972, defeating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final. As hosts of the
1974 World Cup, they won their second World Cup, defeating the
Netherlands 2–1 in the final in Munich. Two matches in the 1974 World Cup stood out for West Germany. The first group stage saw a politically charged match as West Germany played a game against
East Germany.
The East Germans won 1–0 but it made a scant difference to West Germany as the West Germans advanced to the knockout stage. The West Germans advanced to the final against the
Johan Cruyff-led Dutch team and their brand of "
Total Football". The Dutch took the lead from a
penalty. However, West Germany equalised with a penalty by
Paul Breitner, and won the match with
Gerd Müller's fine finish soon after.
Late 1970s and early 1980s in 1974 West Germany failed to defend their titles in the next two major international tournaments. They lost to
Czechoslovakia in the
UEFA Euro 1976 final in a
penalty shootout 5–3, their last penalty shootout loss in a major tournament as of 2025. In the
1978 World Cup, Germany was eliminated in the second group stage after losing 3–2 to
Austria. Schön retired as coach afterward, and the post was taken over by his assistant,
Jupp Derwall. West Germany's first tournament under Derwall was successful, as they earned their second European title at
Euro 1980 after defeating
Belgium 2–1 in the final. West Germany started the
1982 World Cup with a 1–2 upset by newcomers
Algeria in their first match, but advanced to the second round with a
controversial 1–0 win over Austria. In the
semi-final against France, they drew 3–3 and won the penalty shootout 5–4. In the
final, they were defeated by Italy 1–3. During this period, West Germany's
Gerd Müller racked up fourteen goals in two World Cups (1970 and 1974). His ten goals in 1970 are the third-most ever in a tournament. Müller's all-time World Cup record of 14 goals was broken by
Ronaldo in 2006; this was then further broken by
Miroslav Klose in 2014 with 16 goals.
Beckenbauer's managing success (1984–1990) in 1990 After West Germany were eliminated in the first round of
Euro 1984,
Franz Beckenbauer returned to the national team to replace Derwall as manager. At the
1986 World Cup in Mexico, West Germany finished as runners-up for the second consecutive tournament after beating France 2–0 in the semi-finals, but losing to the
Diego Maradona-led
Argentina in the final, 2–3. In
Euro 1988, after drawing Italy 1–1 and beating both Denmark and
Spain 2–0 in the group stage, West Germany's hopes of winning the tournament on home soil were spoiled by the
Netherlands, as the Dutch beat them 2–1 in the semi-finals. At the
1990 World Cup in Italy, West Germany won their third World Cup title, in its unprecedented third consecutive final appearance. Captained by
Lothar Matthäus, they defeated
Yugoslavia (4–1),
UAE (5–1), the Netherlands (2–1),
Czechoslovakia (1–0), and
England (1–1, 4–3 on penalty kicks) on the way to a final rematch against Argentina in Rome. West Germany won 1–0, with the only goal being a penalty scored in the 85th minute by
Andreas Brehme. West Germany also reached the second round in both
1972 and
1984. On the other hand, due to having an ability to field its top-level players who were classified as amateurs on a technicality East Germany did better, winning a gold, a silver and two bronze medals (one representing the United Team of Germany).
Berti Vogts years (1990–1998) In February 1990, three months after the fall of the
Berlin Wall,
East Germany and West Germany were drawn together in
UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying. In November 1990, the East German association
Deutscher Fußball-Verband integrated into the DFB, by which time the East Germany team had ceased operations, playing its last match on 12 September 1990. The unified Germany national team completed the European Championship qualifying group. The
East German 1990–91 league continued, with a restructuring of German leagues in
1991–92. The first game with a unified Germany national team was against
Switzerland on 19 December 1990. After the 1990 World Cup, assistant
Berti Vogts took over as the national team coach from the retiring Beckenbauer. In
Euro 1992, Germany reached the final, but lost 0–2 to underdogs
Denmark. In the
1994 World Cup, they were upset 1–2 in the quarterfinals by
Bulgaria. As Germany played its first World Cup as a
reunified nation, only one former
East German player,
Matthias Sammer, was included on the roster. Sammer played a significant role, featuring in four out of Germany's five matches. The East German national team only featured in one World Cup, famously beating hosts West Germany 1-0 during the group stage in
1974. The unification of the West and East German football leagues had also led to a decline in East German Clubs, as they could no longer rely on government funding to subsidize their expenditures. In the
1994/95 Bundesliga season,
Dynamo Dresden was the only East German club in the league, and was relegated at the end of the season. Reunified Germany won its first major international title at
Euro 1996, becoming European champions for the third time. They defeated hosts
England in the semi-finals, and the
Czech Republic 2–1 in the final on a
golden goal in extra time. However, in the
1998 World Cup, Germany were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 0–3 defeat to
Croatia, with all goals being scored after defender
Christian Wörns received a straight red card. Vogts stepped down afterwards and was replaced by
Erich Ribbeck.
Erich Ribbeck and Rudi Völler years (2000–2004) In
Euro 2000, the team went out in the first round, drawing with Romania, then suffering a 1–0 defeat to England and were routed 3–0 by Portugal (which fielded their backup players, having already advanced). Ribbeck resigned, and was replaced by
Rudi Völler. Coming into the
2002 World Cup, expectations of Germany were low due to poor results in the
qualifiers, and not directly qualifying for the finals for the first time. The team advanced from the group, and in the knockout stages they produced three consecutive 1–0 wins against
Paraguay, the
United States, and co-hosts
South Korea.
Oliver Neuville scored two minutes from time against Paraguay and
Michael Ballack scored both goals in the US and South Korea games, although he picked up a second yellow card against South Korea for a
tactical foul and was suspended for the subsequent match. This set up a final against
Brazil, the first World Cup meeting between the two. Germany lost 0–2 thanks to two
Ronaldo goals. Nevertheless, German captain and goalkeeper
Oliver Kahn won the
Golden Ball, the first time in the World Cup that a goalkeeper was named the best player of the tournament. in
Regensburg Germany once again exited in the first round at
Euro 2004, drawing their first two matches and losing the third to the Czech Republic (who had fielded a second-string team). Völler resigned afterwards, and
Jürgen Klinsmann was appointed head coach.
Resurgence under Klinsmann (2004–2006) Klinsmann's main task was to lead the national team to a good showing at the
2006 World Cup in Germany. He relieved goalkeeper Kahn of the captaincy and announced that Kahn and longtime backup
Jens Lehmann would be competing for the position of starting goaltender, a decision that angered Kahn and Lehmann eventually won that contest. Expectations for the team were low, which was not helped by veteran defender
Christian Wörns being dropped (after Wörns criticised Klinsmann for designating him only as a backup player on the squad), a choice roundly panned in Germany. Italy routed Germany 4–1 in a March 2006 exhibition game, and Klinsmann bore the brunt of the criticism as the team was
ranked only 22nd in the world entering the 2006 World Cup. As World Cup hosts, Germany won all three group stage matches to finish top of their group. The team defeated
Sweden 2–0 in the round of 16, and Argentina in the quarter-finals in a penalty shootout. The semi-final against Italy was scoreless until near the end of extra time when Germany conceded two goals. In the third place match, Germany defeated Portugal 3–1.
Miroslav Klose was awarded the
Golden Boot for his tournament-leading five goals.
Löw era (2006–2021) Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 Germany's entry into the
Euro 2008 qualifying round was marked by the promotion of
Joachim Löw following the resignation of Klinsmann. At
UEFA Euro 2008, Germany won two out of three matches in group play to advance to the knockout round. They defeated
Portugal 3–2 in the quarter-final, and won their semi-final against
Turkey. Germany lost the
final against Spain 1–0, finishing as runners-up. At the 2010 World Cup, Germany won the group and advanced to the knockout stage. In the round of 16, Germany defeated
England 4–1. Miroslav Klose tied
Gerd Müller's record of 14 World Cup goals, as Germany defeated
Argentina 4–0 in the quarterfinals. In the semi-finals, Germany lost 1–0 to
Spain. They defeated Uruguay 3–2 to finish third.
Thomas Müller won the Golden Boot and the
Best Young Player Award. At Euro 2012, Germany was placed in
Group B along with Portugal,
Netherlands, and
Denmark. Germany won all three group matches, and then defeated Greece in the quarter-finals as they set a record of 15 consecutive wins in all competitive matches. In the semi-finals, Germany lost to Italy, 2–1.
2014 World Cup victory Germany were placed in
Group G of the 2014 World Cup, with
Portugal,
Ghana, and the
United States. They first faced Portugal in a match billed by some as the "team of all the talents against the team of The Talent (
Cristiano Ronaldo)", routing the Portuguese 4–0 thanks to a hat-trick by Thomas Müller. In their match with Ghana, they led the game before Ghana fought back to take the lead. When Klose scored to level the match at 2–2, he netted his 15th World Cup goal to join former Brazil striker
Ronaldo at the pinnacle of World Cup Finals scorers. They then went on to defeat the Klinsmann-led United States 1–0, securing them a spot in the knockout stages. The round of 16 knockout match against Algeria remained goalless after regulation time, resulting in an extra time period where
André Schürrle scored from a Thomas Müller pass after only less than two minutes.
Mesut Özil scored Germany's second goal in the 120th minute with the match ending 2–1. In the
quarter-finals against
France,
Mats Hummels scored the only goal in the 13th minute, as Germany advanced to a record fourth consecutive semi-final. The
7–1 semi-final win against
Brazil was one of the most memorable games in World Cup history; Germany scored four goals in just less than seven minutes and were 5–0 up by the 30th minute with goals from Thomas Müller, Miroslav Klose, Sami Khedira and two from Toni Kroos. Germany's 7–0 lead in the second half was the highest score against Brazil in a single game. It was Brazil's worst ever World Cup defeat, whilst Germany broke multiple World Cup records with the win, including the record broken by Klose, the first team to reach four consecutive World Cup semi-finals, the first team to score seven goals in a World Cup knockout phase game, the fastest five consecutive goals in World Cup history (with four of the goals scored in just 400 seconds), and the first team to score five goals in the first half in a World Cup semi-final. The
World Cup final was held at the
Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro on 13 July.
Mario Götze's 113th-minute goal helped Germany beat Argentina 1–0, becoming the first-ever European team to win a FIFA World Cup in the Americas and the second European team to win the title outside Europe.
Euro 2016 to 2017 Confederations Cup After several players retired from the team following the 2014 World Cup, including
Philipp Lahm,
Per Mertesacker and Miroslav Klose, the team had a disappointing start in the
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. They defeated
Scotland 2–1 at home, then suffered a 2–0 loss at
Poland (the first in their history), a 1–1 draw against the
Republic of Ireland, and a 4–0 win over
Gibraltar. Troubles during qualifying for Euro 2016 continued, drawing at home, as well as losing away to Ireland; the team also only narrowly defeated Scotland on two occasions, but handily won the return against Poland and both games against Gibraltar (who competed for the first time). They would eventually win their
group and qualify for the tournament. On 13 November 2015, Germany played a friendly against
France in Paris when
a series of terrorist attacks took place in the city, some in the direct vicinity of the
Stade de France, where the game was held. For security reasons, the team spent the night inside the stadium, accompanied by the French squad who stayed behind in an act of comradery. Four days later, Germany was scheduled to face
the Netherlands at
Hanover's
HDI-Arena, in another friendly. After initial security reservations, the DFB decided to play the match on 15 November. After reports about a concrete threat to the stadium, the match was cancelled 90 minutes before kickoff. At
UEFA Euro 2016, Germany began their campaign with a 2–0 win against Ukraine. Against Poland, Germany were held to a 0–0 draw but concluded Group C play with a 1–0 win against Northern Ireland. In the round of 16, Germany faced Slovakia and earned a comfortable 3–0 win. Germany then faced off against
rivals Italy in the quarter-finals.
Mesut Özil opened the scoring in the 65th minute for Germany, before
Leonardo Bonucci equalised after netting a penalty thirteen minutes later. The score remained 1–1 after extra time, and Germany beat Italy 6–5 in a penalty shootout. It was the first time Germany had overcome Italy in a major tournament. The Germans lost to hosts France 2–0 in the semi-finals, their first competitive win against Germany in 58 years. Germany qualified for the
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup after winning the 2014 World Cup, and won the last version of the Confederations Cup after a 1–0 win against
Chile in the
final at the
Krestovsky Stadium in
Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Disappointment at the 2018 World Cup, 2018–19 UEFA Nations League and Euro 2020 watching the match between Germany and South Korea After winning all their qualifying matches and the Confederations Cup the previous year, Germany started their
2018 World Cup campaign with a defeat to
Mexico, their first loss in an opening match since the
1982 World Cup. Germany defeated
Sweden 2–1 in their second game via an injury-time winner from
Toni Kroos, but were subsequently eliminated following a 2–0 loss to
South Korea, their first exit in the first round since 1938 and first in the group stage since the format had been reintroduced in 1950. With this result Germany became the fifth defending champions to be eliminated in the group stages of the World Cup, following
Brazil in 1966,
France in 2002,
Italy in 2010, and
Spain in 2014. Following the World Cup, Germany's struggles continued into the
inaugural UEFA Nations League. After a 0–0 draw at home against
France, they lost 3–0 against the
Netherlands and 2–1 in the rematch against France three days later; the latter result being their fourth loss in six competitive matches. Due to results elsewhere, the relegation to League B was originally confirmed, but due to the overhaul of the format for the
2020–21 UEFA Nations League, Germany were spared from relegation to League B. In March 2021, the DFB announced that Löw would step down as Germany's manager after
UEFA Euro 2020. Later that month, Germany lost 2–1 at home to
North Macedonia in the
2022 World Cup qualifiers, their first World Cup qualification defeat since
losing 5–1 to
England in
September 2001 and only their third in history. On 25 May 2021, the DFB announced that former assistant manager
Hansi Flick would replace Löw as head coach. At Euro 2020 (delayed until 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic), Germany were drawn with World Cup champions France (to whom they lost 1–0) and reigning European champions Portugal (whom they defeated 4–2), with each group having only two guaranteed qualifiers for the next phase, plus a chance for the third-placed team. In the final group match, the Hungarians took the lead twice only to draw. Germany then lost 2–0 to England in the
round of 16, their first round of 16 exit in a major tournament since the 1938 World Cup.
Recent years (2021–present) Following Germany's disappointment at Euro 2020,
Hansi Flick, former
Bayern Munich manager, took over as coach of the national team. On 11 October 2021, Germany beat North Macedonia 4–0 to become the first team (outside of the hosts) to qualify for the
2022 World Cup in Qatar. In the
2022–23 Nations League, Germany recorded their first-ever competitive win against Italy as the Germans beat the visitors 5–2. This was Germany's fourth game and first win in the league, however the Germans finished third in the group. . The players covered their mouths in protest of FIFA's ban of pro-
LGBTQ+ armbands. At the 2022 World Cup, Germany were drawn into
Group E with
Spain,
Japan and
Costa Rica. The campaign started with a shock 2–1 defeat to Japan. Germany drew 1–1 with Spain, and then were knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament, despite a 4–2 win over Costa Rica, missing out on a place in the knockout stages on goal difference. After several poor performances following Germany's World Cup exit – including a 4–1 home loss to Japan – Flick was dismissed on 10 September 2023. On 22 September 2023,
Julian Nagelsmann was named the new head coach. After a rocky end to 2023, only winning one out of four games, Germany found itself back in form in the new year with a second victory against
France and the Netherlands, strengthening hopes for a successful
UEFA Euro 2024 campaign. As hosts of Euro 2024, Germany won the tournament's opening match against Scotland 5–1. Germany went on to defeat
Hungary 2–0 in their second match to qualify for the
round of 16. After defeating
Denmark in the round of 16, Germany went on to the quarter-finals, where they were defeated 2–1 after extra time by
Spain. == Team image ==