On Sunday, The Germany national team begin their mission to acquire their fourth EURO title. To kick off the “Tour de France” at EURO 2016, the world champions, under head coach Joachim Löw, go up against Ukraine in Group C on Sunday (21:00 CEST, live on ARD and on Fan Club-Radio at laut.fm/dfbfanclubradio). DFB.de has all the facts and stats about the match at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille.
Record I: Sunday’s game will be Germany’s 912th international fixture. The record since that opening 5-3 loss to Switzerland on 5th April 1908 is 529 wins, 183 draws and 199 losses, while scoring 2,046 goals and conceding 1,085. 923 different players have been capped in that time, with Julian Brandt, Joshua Kimmich, Bernd Leno and Julian Weigl the most recent debutants in the 3-1 defeat to Slovakia.
Record II: The clash on Sunday will be Joachim Löw’s 132nd in the dugout. Germany have won 87 games since he took charge in August 2006, drawing 22 and losing 22. The manager has used 107 different players in those games and has handed 82 Germans their senior international debut.
Record III: This will be the sixth meeting with Ukraine since 30th April 1997. Germany have won two of the five so far, never conceding defeat, and therefore drawing the other two. The qualifying matches for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea were particularly memorable. In the first match in Kiev, it finished 1-1 thanks to a goal from “Capitano” Michael Ballack. Four days later, Ballack led his team to a 4-1 win in a very strong performance in Dortmund, and therefore, to the World Cup in Asia. The DFB captain scored two goals himself, with the others coming from Oliver Neuville and Marco Rehmer. Current co-manager of the Yellow and Blues, Andriy Shevchenko, was responsible for Ukraine’s only goal. Fans will want to forget how it went in the finals however, as Germany lost 2-0 in the final against Brazil.
Record IV: Germany and Ukraine have never met at a tournament. Their last meeting ended in a 3-3 draw in Kiev on 11th November 2011. The hosts took a 2-0 lead in the match around five years ago, through Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka, both of whom are also in coach Michail Fomenko’s squad this time round. Toni Kroos scored the third goal, before Serhiy Nazarenko once again gave the Ukrainians a two-goal lead before the break. In the second half, Simon Rolfes and Thomas Müller brought it back to give the two teams their third draw against each other.
Record players: Still leading the way in this regard is Lothar Matthäus. The former World Footballer of the Year won 150 caps for Germany between 1980 and 2000. Of the still active players, Lukas Podolski is next in the list with 128 appearances, followed by captain Bastian Schweinsteiger who has featured for Die Mannschaft 115 times.
Record goalscorers: Germany’s all-time goalscoring charts are topped by Miroslav Klose, who netted 71 times, three more than Gerd Müller (68). However, Der Bomber only needed 62 caps for his tally, while Klose had notched 137 appearances when he retired from international football. Lukas Podolski (48), Thomas Müller (32) and Mario Gomez (27) are the top scorers in the current squad.
EURO squad: Joachim Löw was forced to tweak his squad one last time before the start of the EUROs. In the first training session after arriving in Germany’s EURO 2016 headquarters in Évian, Antonio Rüdiger suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee, and therefore will miss out on the tournament. Löw called up Leverkusen-defender Jonathan Tah in his place, who has so far only played once for Die Mannschaft. During the 3-2 defeat to England on 26th March at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, he was used as a half-time substitution for Mats Hummels.
On Sunday, The Germany national team begin their mission to acquire their fourth EURO title. To kick off the “Tour de France” at EURO 2016, the world champions, under head coach Joachim Löw, go up against Ukraine in Group C on Sunday (21:00 CEST, live on ARD and on Fan Club-Radio at laut.fm/dfbfanclubradio). DFB.de has all the facts and stats about the match at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille.
Record I: Sunday’s game will be Germany’s 912th international fixture. The record since that opening 5-3 loss to Switzerland on 5th April 1908 is 529 wins, 183 draws and 199 losses, while scoring 2,046 goals and conceding 1,085. 923 different players have been capped in that time, with Julian Brandt, Joshua Kimmich, Bernd Leno and Julian Weigl the most recent debutants in the 3-1 defeat to Slovakia.
Record II: The clash on Sunday will be Joachim Löw’s 132nd in the dugout. Germany have won 87 games since he took charge in August 2006, drawing 22 and losing 22. The manager has used 107 different players in those games and has handed 82 Germans their senior international debut.
Record III: This will be the sixth meeting with Ukraine since 30th April 1997. Germany have won two of the five so far, never conceding defeat, and therefore drawing the other two. The qualifying matches for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea were particularly memorable. In the first match in Kiev, it finished 1-1 thanks to a goal from “Capitano” Michael Ballack. Four days later, Ballack led his team to a 4-1 win in a very strong performance in Dortmund, and therefore, to the World Cup in Asia. The DFB captain scored two goals himself, with the others coming from Oliver Neuville and Marco Rehmer. Current co-manager of the Yellow and Blues, Andriy Shevchenko, was responsible for Ukraine’s only goal. Fans will want to forget how it went in the finals however, as Germany lost 2-0 in the final against Brazil.
Record IV: Germany and Ukraine have never met at a tournament. Their last meeting ended in a 3-3 draw in Kiev on 11th November 2011. The hosts took a 2-0 lead in the match around five years ago, through Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka, both of whom are also in coach Michail Fomenko’s squad this time round. Toni Kroos scored the third goal, before Serhiy Nazarenko once again gave the Ukrainians a two-goal lead before the break. In the second half, Simon Rolfes and Thomas Müller brought it back to give the two teams their third draw against each other.
Record players: Still leading the way in this regard is Lothar Matthäus. The former World Footballer of the Year won 150 caps for Germany between 1980 and 2000. Of the still active players, Lukas Podolski is next in the list with 128 appearances, followed by captain Bastian Schweinsteiger who has featured for Die Mannschaft 115 times.
Record goalscorers: Germany’s all-time goalscoring charts are topped by Miroslav Klose, who netted 71 times, three more than Gerd Müller (68). However, Der Bomber only needed 62 caps for his tally, while Klose had notched 137 appearances when he retired from international football. Lukas Podolski (48), Thomas Müller (32) and Mario Gomez (27) are the top scorers in the current squad.
EURO squad: Joachim Löw was forced to tweak his squad one last time before the start of the EUROs. In the first training session after arriving in Germany’s EURO 2016 headquarters in Évian, Antonio Rüdiger suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee, and therefore will miss out on the tournament. Löw called up Leverkusen-defender Jonathan Tah in his place, who has so far only played once for Die Mannschaft. During the 3-2 defeat to England on 26th March at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, he was used as a half-time substitution for Mats Hummels.
EURO debutants: For ten of the 23 players in Löw’s squad, it will be the first European Championship of their career. For both of the goalkeepers Bernd Leno and Marc-André ter Stegen, the defenders Emre Can, Jonas Hector, Shkodran Mustafi and Tah, as well as the offensive players Julian Draxler, Joshua Kimmich, Julian Weigl and Leroy Sané, it is their first time in a EURO squad. Schalke’s captain Benedikt Höwedes was indeed called up to Löw’s squad four years ago in Poland and Ukraine, but nevertheless, he did not make an appearance.
All-time EURO table: Germany are clearly ahead of title-defending Spain in the all-time EURO table. During eleven tournaments, they have played 43 games: 23 victories, ten draws and ten defeats. They have scored 65, and conceded 45 goals. A Germany team has won the European Championship three times: 1972 in Belgium, 1980 in Italy and 1996 in England. The Spaniards lie in second place with nine tournaments to their name (36 matches: 17-11-8, 50:32) and also three titles (1964, 2008, 2012).
Most EURO appearances: World champion Philipp Lahm is the Germany record holder, with 14 EURO matches. The Bayern player made appearances at three finals from 2004 through to 2012, and scored two goals. However, this record is not secure: captain Bastian Schweinsteiger has so far made 13 EURO appearances . Lukas Podolski (11) and Mario Gomez (9) could also catch and overtake Lahm in France. Internationally, France’s Lilian Thuram as well as Dutchman Edwin van der Sar (both from 1996 to 2008) lead, with 16 matches.
EURO top goalscorer: Former Germany coach Jürgen Klinsmann leads Germany’s EURO goalscoring list with five goals in 13 games. However, just like Lahm’s milestone, “Klinsi” is also under threat of being overtaken. The candidates to be the 1990 world champion and 1996 European champion’s successor are, among others, Podolski with four goals and Gomez with three. The French lead in this area too: the former UEFA president, Michel Platini scored nine goals to grab the record – all at EURO 1984.
record EURO managers:Joachim Löw will become the all-time record holder in the first game against Ukraine. Löw is currently tied withBerti Vogts on eleven games. The World Cup winning coach also has a better points per game average with 2.18 (Vogts: 1.91). However, Vogts won the 1996 European Championship in England - a title the Löw is yet to secure. Under Löw, none of Germany’s eleven European Championship final stage matches, neither after 90 nor 120 minutes, have ended in a draw (eight wins, three defeats).
EURO openers: Germany are unbeaten in their eleven European Championship opening games, recording six victories and five draws. They kicked off their EURO 1992 campaign in Sweden, in which they eventually finished as runners-up, with a 1-1 draw with the CIS on the 12th June. After Igor Dobrovolski’s penalty had put the Commonwealth of Independent States (64'), Thomas Häßler equalised in the 90th minute with a free-kick. Germany also recorded a draw in their EURO 2000 opener - the match against Romania on 12th June in Liège finished 1-1. Mehmet Scholl (28') cancelled out Viorel Moldovan’s early strike (5').
EURO goals: 15 of Germany’s last 16 European Championship goals have been scored from inside the penalty area - only Philipp Lahm in the 4-2 victory over Greece in the 2012 quaterfinal scored from outside the area. Eight different players have netted the last eight goals at the EUROs. Ukraine conceded their four goals between the 48th and 56th minutes.
Location: Germany have failed to score before the break in their last eight international fixtures on French soil. The last player to net in the opening 45 minutes of a game in a French stadium was current Hungary assistant manager Andreas Möller. He scored in the 2-0 victory over the USA in Germany‘s 1998 World Cup opener. Ukraine have never scored on French soil. They’ve recorded one draw and four defeats, conceding six goals in the process.
Stadium: Sunday’s fixture is both Germany and Ukraine’s first ever game in Lille. French first-division side OSC Lille play their home games in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy (capacity: 50,000), which opened in August 2012. The stadium is in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, east of Lille. The stadium is named after a former long-serving mayor of Lille and is multi-purpose. Spain were crowned 2015 European Champions in basketball there and Switzerland won the Davis Cup in 2014. As well as three other group games, one EURO 2016 last 16 game and a quarterfinal will be staged there. If Germany top their group, they’ll return to Lille for their last 16 fixture. Five of the World Champions’ players have fond memories of the stadium. Toni Kroos, Jerome Boateng, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller and Bastian Schweinsteiger ran out 1-0 winners against Lille with Bayern in a Champions League group game in October 2012. Müller netted from the spot.
Opponents I:Ukraine finished third behind Spain and Slovakia in Group C in qualifying and had to come through the play-offs. They won the first leg 2-0 and drew the second 1-1 with Slovenia. Ukraine never conceded more than one goal in each of their 12 qualification games - shipping a total of five. It is the first time that Ukraine have successfully made it through the qualifying rounds - as hosts four years ago, they automatically secured a spot. They’ve previously failed on seven occasions in attempts to qualify for a European Championship or World Cup. They did reach their first-ever World Cup in 2006. Reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Italy in Hamburg, is Ukraine’s greatest sporting success to date. However, during the Soviet Union, numerous Ukraine players were involved in European Championships. The Soviet Union finished as runners-up in Munich in 1988 and had several Ukrainian players in their ranks and a Ukrainian manager in Walerij Lobanowski.
Opponents II: Ukraine are 19th in the FIFA World Rankings with 894 points - Germany are fourth (1310). There aren’t any players who ply their trade in the Bundesliga in the Ukraine squad. However, Anatolij Timoschtschuk should be known to lots of fans due to his time with record champions Bayern München (2009 until 2013). Timoschtschuk is Ukraine’s most-capped player, having made 142 appearances. He has featured in 62% of Ukraine’s 230 international fixtures. Record goal scorer Shevchenko (48 goals in 111 games) is the only Ukrainian player to have scored a goal in a European Championship final stage (two goals in the 2012 tournament). Attacking midfielder Andrej Jarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev) was his team’s top scorer in qualifying (six goals) - no other player netted more than three. Jarmolenko also scored in the two important play-off games against Slovenia.
Opponents III: Ukraine manager Mykhaylo Fomenko won the double with Dynamo Kiev in 1993. The former USSR international, who received 24 caps, was crowned champions of the Soviet first division on three occasions with Dynamo Kiev, triumphed in the 1975 Cup Winners’ Cup and beat Bayern in the 1975 UEFA Super Cup. Fomenko succeeded former teammate Oleg Blochin in December 2012. Ukraine is the second international team he’s managed, previously taking charge of Guinea briefly in 1994.
Teammates:Mario Gomez and Denys Bojko were crowned Süper Lig Champions with Beşiktaş last season. Anatolij Timoschtschuk knows Bastian Schweinsteiger, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng, Toni Kroos, Emre Can and Mario Gomez from his time at Bayern. As a player, Ukraine manager Michail Fomenko lost a friendly against Germany 1-0 in September 1973 (Goal: Gerd Müller in the 62nd minute). Germany’s current general manager Oliver Bierhoff scored the opening goal in the 2-0 victory over Ukraine in the World Cup qualifier on 30th April 1997.
Referee:England’s Martin Atkinson will ref the game in Lille. The 45-year-old has previously taken charge of three of Die Mannschaft’s fixtures: the World Cup qualifier against Finland (1-1) in October 2009, the friendly against Argentina (0-1) in March 2010 and the European Championship qualifier in Turkey (3-1) in October 2011.
