After the disasters of the 2018 World Cup where they failed to cross the group stage hurdle, 2014 World Champions Germany head to the Euros in search of lost prestige. The Die Mannschaft will be managed by Joachim Loew for the one last time at a major event and their long-serving coach would love to end on a high. Results have been poor in the last year or so which has increased the pressure on the team. Loew has tried a few things including bringing back a few old faces but only time will tell if it has an impact. Ahead of Euro 2020, we rate Germany’s chances. Euro 2020: Joachim Loew Recalls Thomas Mueller and Mats Hummels in Germany Squad.

Strength

Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have just won the Champions League and the duo despite the flurry of criticism surrounding their performances have managed to shut down the trolls. They will be full of confidence heading into the Euros and it is imperative Joachim Loew utilises them effectively.

Weakness

Joachim Loew’s preference for a 3-4-3 system has often left the Germans lacking creativity in the final third. The system often stagnates the forward line who do not offer much threat in the form of off-the-ball running and this leads to a lack of goals, something unheard of in old German teams.

Opportunity

There has been a lot of criticism of Germany in the press and for the first time in many years, they start the competition as one of the least fancied sides. The German team can use this as a motivation to cause a major upset.

Threat

Germany, horribly out of form, have Portugal and France waiting in the group stage to make matters worse. Both these countries have been dominating the opposition recently and Germany will do well to avoid a defeat. As Jose Mourinho has predicted, Germany are staring at yet another group stage exit barring a miracle.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 09, 2021 09:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).