Where were you the night a European Championship last- 16 match was suspended for 23 minutes because of a thunderstorm? Let me put that another way: where were you when Germany advanced to the quarter-finals with a swagger in their stride before a buoyant home crowd? A businesslike dispatch of Denmark – albeit with a helping hand from the motion-sensing microchip inside the match ball partly made of sugar cane – brought great communal rejoicing and a ruthless display provided a compelling argument for why the hosts will be hard to stop from here. The Germany roadshow, which has taken in Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and now Dortmund, continues apace, returning to Stuttgart on Friday.
This was a peculiar, unforgettable evening and when the referee, Michael Oliver, restarted play after the weather delay, dropping the ball at the majestic feet of Toni Kroos, suddenly it was the 35th minute all over again. It was a freakish occasion when those in the cheap seats could feel smug, those in row A not so much. Some Germany supporters in the iconic 25,000-strong Südtribüne had sought safety in the concourses as conditions worsened under doomed black skies.
Others stayed, some sheltering under saturated flags that before kick-off made a striking tifo of die Bundesflagge, in unison chanting: “Oh, wie ist das schön” (how beautiful it is). A couple of Denmark fans braved it all, singing in the rain that spewed through the corner of the roof at the other end. Some, stewards in emergency polythene ponchos, had little choice.
In keeping with a strange evening, one of the moments of the night arrived after midnight local time, Kasper Hjulmand beginning his press conference by wielding his smartphone to labour the point that Thomas Delaney being a toenail offside in the buildup to Joachim Andersen’s disallowed strike three minutes into the second half was a farcical state of affairs. “One centimetre,” the Denmark manager said. “In my opinion this is not how football is supposed to be.” Three minutes later Andersen recognised it was better to laugh than cry after being penalised for an extremely soft handball after a VAR review.
Given the clamour among supporters for Niclas Füllkrug to start in place of Kai Havertz – a street near Germany’s team hotel was briefly renamed Niclas-Füllkrug-Allee before the sign was removed – this was a deeply satisfying night for Julian Nagelsmann. Germany’s manager does not care for outside noise and Havertz, who sent a sweet early left-foot volley wide from a magnificent Antonio Rüdiger diagonal pass and would have made it 3-0 in stoppage time but for a sprawling Kasper Schmeichel, opened the scoring with a nerveless penalty. Havertz appeared teary as he was mobbed by teammates, inadvertently becoming the obvious target for Denmark fans who threw a load of plastic beer cups in his direction. Füllkrug, naturally, appeared as a substitute for the seventh time in a row, entering for his customary 30-minute cameo.
Denmark were entrenched in their half for the opening quarter of an hour. “It was pure survival,” Hjulmand said. But while it appeared Germany would blow them away, it was not quite that straightforward. Nico Schlotterbeck, who like Füllkrug plays here for his club, needed to put in an all-action performance in the heart of defence after being promoted to the starting lineup. His clean, sweeping challenge to wipe the ball clear from Andreas Skov Olsen soon after the hour earned a huge ovation, generating a national sense of approval; he also had a goal disallowed. In the first half Schlotterbeck revved up the home crowd after being given a bump by Thomas Delaney. Rüdiger was equally efficient at extinguishing fires, making big blocks to thwart the busy Rasmus Højlund and Christian Eriksen.
The scenes at the final whistle were the kind Germany presumably envisaged when they accepted the pressure that comes with being hosts, supporters singing Manuel Neuer’s name and showering Nagelsmann and his players with love. As Germany’s national anthem ended before kick-off, Nagelsmann could not help but smile at the occasion, one that had been brewing all day. Forget Füllkrug, the big news was the presence of Andre Schnura, the saxophonist who has become such a hit he has been immortalised in the Euro 2024 fan zone built at Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, the world’s largest model railway, fit with bunting and Uefa branding. Hundreds of supporters gathered by Reinoldikirche to dance to the sound of the brass.
One banner featuring a graphic of Lothar Matthäus cradling the 1990 World Cup, which is on display down the road at the Deutsche Fussball Museum, declared “La Vida Loddar”. Perhaps Ilkay Gündogan, Germany’s captain, will be celebrating in a fortnight. At the moment, though, no Germany night is seemingly done without Jamal Musiala taking centre stage. Schlotterbeck collected Neuer’s pass and slung a pass down the left channel, Musiala nudged the ball in front of him and then caressed a right-foot shot into the far corner past Schmeichel, sending Nagelsmann skipping down the touchline. Germany, back in the groove, plan to keep on running for a while yet.
