DFB victory against the Netherlands: The pink spaceship floats

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Winning goal scorer Niclas Füllkrug

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Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

“Oh, how nice that is”:

Actually, it was about a completely different song for the German men’s national soccer team’s international match against the Netherlands. But when Niclas Füllkrug maneuvered the ball a few centimeters over the goal line with his shoulder after a corner from Toni Kroos in the 85th minute, the second win in a row against a major football nation was certain and the fans in Frankfurt am Main were not singing Major Tom , but a well-known football classic: "Oh, how beautiful that is." "Something has emerged this week that wasn't there before," said Kroos after the game on RTL when asked about the changed mood.

The result:

Germany won against Oranje 2-1 (1-1) after goals from Füllkrug and Maximilian Mittelstädt. Read the gameplay here.

Completely detached:

These are exciting days for the national team. The 2-0 win in France already had the potential to ignite euphoria around the team, which had been languishing for years, almost twelve weeks before the start of the home European Championship. The renewed public interest was also evident in the discussions about the goal anthem. A petition signed by almost 70,000 people called for a move away from Zombie Nation's song Kernkraft 400, which was chosen in 2019, in favor of Major Tom. The DFB control center panicked and Peter Schilling's song from the 1980s actually played twice in the Frankfurt stadium.

This is a Germany jersey:

The thing with Major Tom has its origins in a spot from supplier Adidas. The new jerseys are advertised there in a charming way, and the videos went viral. The DFB team appeared against Elftal for the first time in the new pink and blue away jerseys. According to Adidas, which will be replaced by Nike as DFB supplier in 2026, the pink jersey is selling very well. “That’s not a Germany jersey,” the spot says, referring to the reactions of the excited social media bubble. One can only agree with Florian Wirtz's answer: "Yes, it is."

First half:

Against France it took eight seconds before Germany took the lead. That evening in Frankfurt, only four minutes had been played - and the DFB team was behind after a goal from Joey Veerman. How would the team deal with this setback? Just a few months ago, the uncertainty would have been noticeable quickly. But national coach Julian Nagelsmann seems to have prepared his players for this scenario. No trace of doubts. The ball ran quickly and fluidly through the German ranks, the Dutch were quickly forced to make mistakes due to aggressive running and at no point did it have the character of a test match. The only thing that left something to be desired was the quick equalizer from Mittelstädt (11th minute).

Construction site closed?

For years, the national coaches have struggled with a problem area: the full-backs. Thilo Kehrer, Christian Günter, David Raum, Benjamin Henrichs, Marvin Plattenhardt, Marius Wolf, Robin Gosens, Kai Havertz - there were countless experiments, most of which ended unsatisfactorily. This time could now be over. Joshua Kimmich is placed on the right side, the Munich player is getting better and better at the unpopular position after initial difficulties. And on the left, Mittelstädt turns out to be a big surprise. The 27-year-old was one of the most active players afterwards, and not just because of his goal - a great shot from the edge of the penalty area. But: The Stuttgart player caused Veerman's goal in his second international match with a back pass that was too short and showed further weaknesses in defense.

Second half:

The German team got off to a weak start after the break. The Dutch now played man-oriented, some DFB players struggled with this change, the Oranje had two very good chances to score. But Nagelsmann's subsequent changes worked, with Chris Führich, Thomas Müller and Niclas Füllkrug bringing new impetus to the offensive. Jamal Musiala (76th) and Müller (83rd) had promising failures, but Füllkrug rewarded the entire team's good reaction with his lucky hit on the shoulder (85th).

The axis is stationary, or is it not?

The national coach had emphasized in the run-up to these international matches that he wanted to establish a team. So it wasn't surprising that Nagelsmann chose the same starting eleven. But where could there be changes towards the EM? Manuel Neuer will replace Marc-André ter Stegen in goal. Mittelstädt has to continue to prove itself in Stuttgart. In attack, Füllkrug could be particularly important against deep opponents. And then there is Leroy Sané. The Munich player was missing due to a red card and was in the stadium in Frankfurt as a spectator. “For him it’s about integrating,” said Nagelsmann the day before the game. If he repeats his performance from the first half of the Bundesliga, Sané is a clear candidate for the starting eleven. According to current impressions, captain İlkay Gündoğan would have to give way - there is a threat of a new construction site.

The path to the European Championship:

Now the players go back to the clubs, the Champions League is entering the decisive phase, the new regular players Jonathan Tah, Robert Andrich and Florian Wirtz could win three titles with Bayer Leverkusen. The national coach has now been forced to observe and hold discussions for many weeks. He will name his provisional squad in mid-May, followed by two test matches against European Championship participants Ukraine (June 3) and Greece, which failed in the playoffs (June 7). Nagelsmann has to name the final squad immediately after the second test match. The European Championship starts on June 14th against Scotland.