Euro 2022: Germany's crown has slipped but can they surprise?

Germany have dominated European football over the years but last won the trophy in 2013

Rarely has it been so difficult to assess Germany's chances going into a European Women's Championship.

They may be eight-time European champions. They may have won six of the past seven tournaments. But as Euro 2022 hits its stride, the days when Germany won the trophy as a matter of course are over.

Oliver Bierhoff, the German men's and women's national team director, knows it.

"The competition has become bigger," Bierhoff said. "We no longer have the dominance we had 15 years ago in the women's game."

Nevertheless, Bierhoff expects Germany to make the semi-finals. At least.

• A guide to the Germany team

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Germany are good - but are they prepared? They warmed up with just one friendly, a 7-0 win over Switzerland, and even though the players are comfortable with a 4-3-3 system, the team has not been as settled as coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg would like.

"We may no longer be among the top favourites," said Voss-Tecklenburg.

There is experience and leadership in the squad, but not all of it will be on the pitch. For instance, goalkeeper Almuth Schult, who has 64 caps and recently joined Los Angeles-based Angel City, hasn't played an international match for three years. Schult had shoulder surgery, then took a break to have a baby. Various aches and pains, plus a brush with Covid, have delayed her return.

As a television analyst, the 31-year-old is Germany's most prominent female footballer - but at present, Merle Frohms of Eintracht Frankfurt has the number one spot.

Wolfsburg striker Alexandra Popp, who has 113 caps, is also currently out of the starting line-up. A knee injury led to a spell on the sidelines for the 31-year-old, who then caught Covid.

'Young players affected by the big crowds'

The expected record crowds in England for the Euros are also preoccupying the coach - who suggested that some of her players struggled with the atmosphere when they lost 3-1 to Sarina Wiegman's side in the Arnold Clark Cup at Molineux in February.

"It is actually quite difficult to prepare the players for it," said Voss-Tecklenburg.

"We saw that at the preparation tournament, the Arnold Clark Cup, when there were suddenly thousands of fans in the stadium against England and they made a huge noise - that did something to some of our younger players.

"There was no longer the same belief, the same certainty there. But the only way is to gain that experience."

But one of the older players in her squad is full of anticipation at the prospect.

"It's the most beautiful thing to play in front of a big audience. It inspires us," said midfielder Sara Dabritz.

The 27-year-old, who has joined Champions League winners Lyon from French rivals PSG this summer, won the European title with Germany in 2013.

Since then, the circle of favourites has grown considerably, Dabritz suggested.

"We want to be one of the six to eight teams that can fulfil their dream of winning the title," she said.

"We have a good mix in the team of young and carefree players and experienced players."

There is plenty of talent amid the youth; winger Jule Brand is 19, while Lena Oberdorf - already seen by many as one of the world's best defensive midfielders - is 20.

Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, pictured at a training session with midfielder Sara Dabritz, has been head coach since 2018

But the mix of youth and experience isn't quite working at the moment. Voss-Tecklenburg's side have fallen to fifth in Fifa's rankings, and suffered an embarrassing defeat by Serbia in a World Cup qualifier in April.

Germany are no longer guaranteed winners - or even finalists - at major tournaments. At Euro 2017, they went out to Denmark in the quarter-finals. At the 2019 World Cup, there was another last-eight exit, this time at Sweden's hands.

So forecasting their fate at Euro 2022 is tough. From an early exit to a great triumph at Wembley, anything seems possible.

There are many reasons for Germany's struggles. There have been errors in youth development, but also a certain laziness at the national football association, among the clubs and ultimately also among the players.

Voss-Tecklenburg would like a return to the mentality of her playing days, when she was part of a Germany side with were European champions four times between 1989 and 1997. That was why she brought a true German great into her coaching set-up - three-time world player of the year Birgit Prinz.

The publicity-shy Prinz - who won 214 caps and scored 128 goals for Germany, both national records - won her last major international title at the 2009 Euros in Finland, when she scored two goals in the 6-2 win over England in the final. Prinz, who studied psychology, is now putting that degree to use as the team psychologist, alongside her vast experience.

The 44-year-old, together with the national coach, is aiming to ensure that the German footballers have clear heads going into the tournament.

Voss-Tecklenburg added: "Other nations are perhaps a little ahead of us. I still believe that we will be a really good team at the European Championship if our players have an inner conviction of their ability."