EM are only friendly matches for the German national team until 2024. Dates are largely predetermined, anti-open.

The German national team will play its next competitive game on June 14, 2024. The venue has already been decided, as the opening game of the European Championship has been assigned to the arena in Munich.

When you have opportunities to warm-up for tournaments in your home country is determined by the international framework schedule, which provides a window in which clubs have to second their professionals to national teams.

This is what the calendar will look like again in the 23/24 season after the necessary changes are made for the World Cup in Qatar in November and December.

Home EM up to 12 friends

EM has six windows open until 2024, with a maximum of two games possible for the German team in each: March, September, October and November in 2023 and March 2024. In direct preparation for the Euros, the German Football Association (DFB) is free to decide how many friendly matches it wants to play. However, experience shows that even then it is limited to a maximum of two games.

Since Germany, as the host, automatically qualified for EM 2024, only test matches would take place before the tournament. It would have been possible to participate in qualification out of competition, as France did before the 2016 European Championships. The DFB decided against it. Oliver Bierhoff looked for the “greatest possible flexibility” to “prepare optimally for the tournament against many strong friendly opponents”.

Narrow selection of Test match opponents

However, national coach Hansi Flick and the new sporting director, who are being sought after Birhoff’s departure, will not have a free choice. For example, Portugal, Switzerland and Denmark are not available as opponents in most official release windows as these teams were drawn in groups of six, which are required for qualification on each matchday. Matches against these teams can be held till March 2024 at the most, if they are not challenged in the playoffs.

Opponents such as Italy, Spain, England, the Netherlands and France clearly see things differently. The teams were drawn into groups of five and each had two free games. But these teams should also have the will to compete with each other. This means the DFB has stiff competition in talks for lucrative trial opponents, which are currently underway but are said to have not yet reached a conclusion.

Friendship on other continents too?

It will also be possible to travel to other continents such as South America. Teams such as Brazil and Argentina have the advantage of not playing qualifiers for continental championships, the CONMEBOL federation has only ten members, all participating in the Copa América.

However, only the summer of 2023 window should be an option, as resistance from clubs to a longer move in the middle of the season is likely to be too great. The Gold Cup is coming to the USA from June 24 to July 16, 2023, for which it is highly likely that Mexico and Canada, the other two hosts of the 2026 World Cup, will also qualify.

A test before the Gold Cup in an open window from 12 June to 20 June against Mexico and/or the United States, which lost to the Netherlands in the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, would be sportingly attractive and a Seems worthwhile too. PR approach.

Source: sportschau.de