The German national team has a whole new look in 2024. After struggling the first few matches under former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann, this calendar year has been nothing short of exceptional. An excellent Euro 2024 tournament for Germany, cut short on a controversial missed penalty call that would almost certainly have sent the hosts through to the semi-finals. Since then, Germany has not lost a game, even when facing tough opposition.
Joshua Kimmich has rarely felt this emotion of confidence during his time in the national team, but he knows he wants to keep it going. There once was a time that this feeling was natural with the German national team, but not for years now.
“That’s what we want to develop further. We want to make it more natural to win a game. That hasn’t been the case in recent years with the national team, we haven’t really won much, not even between tournaments. I already mentioned before the Euros that the tournament doesn’t start when the tournament begins, it has to happen much earlier that you grow together as a team, that a certain identification develops. And I have the feeling that that’s what’s happening right now,” said Kimmich (via @iMiaSanMia).
Despite recent pains, it seems as though Germany has re-corrected its course for the future. For now, Kimmich and Nagelsmann are paving a great path forward and the next big milestone would be winning the UEFA Nations League in 2025. That would be a massive step towards the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Every international window that passes, seems as though Die Mannschaft is getting closer and closer to lifting it once again.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s upcoming Champions League match with Benfica, along with a reaction to Bayern Munich drawing Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal? What about our takes on the latest news regarding Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané, and Alphonso Davies — and what might happen if Bayern actually finds a way to ink them all? Great, then check out our Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
