Germany Olympic football team
Nickname(s) | Nationalelf (national eleven) DFB-Elf (DFB Eleven) (Die) Mannschaft (The Team)[1] | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund – DFB) | ||
Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
Most caps | Christian Schreier (22) | ||
Top scorer | Gottfried Fuchs Frank Mill (10 goals each) | ||
FIFA code | GER | ||
| |||
First international | |||
Austria 5–1 Germany (Stockholm, Sweden; 29 June 1912) | |||
Biggest win | |||
Germany 16–0 Russian Empire (Stockholm, Sweden; 1 July 1912)[2] | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
Austria 5–1 Germany (Stockholm, Sweden; 29 June 1912) | |||
Summer Olympic Games | |||
Appearances | 13[a] (first in 1912) | ||
Best result | Gold Medal (1976) | ||
Medal record |
The Germany Olympic football team represents Germany in international football competitions in Olympic Games. It has been active since 1908, and first competed in 1912.
The rules on amateurism were relaxed in the 1980s, which allowed West Germany some success, notably a bronze medal finish in
History
Pre-World War II (1912–1938)
Germany first sent a football team to the Olympics in 1912, where they were defeated in the first round, losing 5–1 against neighbours Austria. They entered a consolation tournament, however, where they recorded a 16–0 win over Russia, with 10 goals from forward Gottfried Fuchs – this is still the national team's highest margin of victory. They were eliminated in the next round, though, with a 3–1 defeat against Hungary. After World War I, Germany was banned from the 1920 Olympics, and didn't compete in 1924, returning to action in 1928, when they were eliminated in the quarter finals by eventual winners Uruguay. Uruguay would go on to win the inaugural World Cup two years later.
Football wasn't included in the 1932 Olympics, but returned for the 1936 games, in Berlin. As hosts, and having finished third at the previous World Cup, hopes of a German success were high. It wasn't to be, though: after a 9–0 win against Luxembourg, Germany were eliminated in the quarter finals, losing 2–0 to Norway. The result cost coach Otto Nerz his job, being replaced by his assistant Sepp Herberger.
Division and unity (1948–1980)
Following
Political tension between East and West Germany increased over time and this had an effect on sports as well. For the
Qualification games were held in 1960 and they are amongst the most bizarre games of football ever played by German teams, known as the "Geisterspiele" ("ghost games"). It was the first time that East and West German football teams competed, and the games were held in East Berlin (West Germany won 2–0) and, one week later, in Düsseldorf (West Germany won 2–1). This thus qualified the West German team. The stadiums were all but empty, with access available to journalists and officials only; no spectators were given access.[3] In the subsequent European qualifying tournament, the West German team was in group two with Poland and Finland. The top team would qualify and Poland was successful.[7]
The pre-qualification process repeated itself in 1964 but this time, spectators were allowed. East Germany won the first game in Karl-Marx-Stadt (now
From 1968, East and West Germany competed separately, but West Germany failed to qualify for the 1968 games, losing against the United Arab Emirates in qualification. The 1972 Olympics were held in Munich, and West Germany qualified automatically as hosts – the amateur team, which contained future World Cup winner Uli Hoeneß and Champions League-winning coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, reached the second round, where they were eliminated in a group containing East Germany, who went on to win the bronze medals. West Germany did not qualify for either the 1976 or 1980 Olympics, losing against Spain and Norway respectively. However, East Germany managed to win the first gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics after beating Poland 3–1 in the final. At the next Olympiad, East Germans failed to win their second gold medal and received only silver, losing 1–0 to Czechoslovakia in the final of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Olympiaauswahl (1984–1988)
The strict rules on amateurism had favoured Communist countries, who were able to send their senior national teams to the Olympics, as their leagues technically had amateur status. These rules were relaxed for the 1984 games: countries could select professional players, but only those who hadn't played in the finals of the World Cup. As such, West Germany selected a team known locally as the Olympiaauswahl (Olympic selection), similar in make-up to the B international team. Initially West Germany failed to qualify for the 1984 games, but were granted a reprieve following the boycott by Eastern Bloc countries. A team including future World Cup winners Andreas Brehme and Guido Buchwald reached the quarter-finals, losing 5–2 against Yugoslavia.
West Germany qualified for the
Reunification (1992–present)
Germany was
In the
Results and fixtures
- Legend
Win Draw Lose Voided or Postponed Fixture
2021
17 July 2021 Friendly | Germany | 1–1 | Honduras | Wakaya, Japan |
17:00 UTC+9 |
|
Report (DFB) |
|
Stadium: Kimiidera Athletic Stadium Attendance: 0 |
22 July 2021 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group D | Brazil | 4–2 | Germany | Yokohama, Japan |
17:30 UTC+9 |
|
Report | Stadium: International Stadium Yokohama Attendance: 0 Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador) |
25 July 2021 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group D | Saudi Arabia | 2–3 | Germany | Yokohama, Japan |
20:30 UTC+9 |
|
Report | Stadium: International Stadium Yokohama Attendance: 0 Referee: Victor Gomes (South Africa) |
28 July 2021 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group D | Germany | 1–1 | Ivory Coast | Rifu, Japan |
17:00 UTC+9 | Löwen 73' | Report | Henrichs 69' (o.g.) | Stadium: Miyagi Stadium )Referee: Leodán González (Uruguay |
Players
Current squad
- The following 19 players were called up for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
- Max Kruse, Maximilian Arnold and Nadiem Amiri were the three selected over 23 years old players.
- Caps and goals correct as of 28 July 2021.
Overage players in Olympic Games
Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
---|---|---|---|
Sven Bender (MF) | Lars Bender (MF) | Nils Petersen (FW) | |
Maximilian Arnold (MF) | Nadiem Amiri (MF) | Max Kruse (FW) |
Competitive record
For East Germany team record, look here.
- 1900–1936 as → → → Germany
- 1948–1956 as West Germany
- 1956–1964 as United Team of Germany
- 1964–1990 as West Germany
- 1990–present as Germany
Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal Fourth place
Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games record | Qualifications record | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Squad | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
1900 | did not enter | did not enter | — | ||||||||||||||
1904 | — | ||||||||||||||||
1908 | — | ||||||||||||||||
1912 | First round | 7th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 8 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
1920 | Banned | Banned | — | ||||||||||||||
1924 | — | ||||||||||||||||
1928 | Quarter-final | 5th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
1936 | Quarter-final | 6th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | — | ||||||
1948 | Banned | Banned | — | ||||||||||||||
1952 | Fourth place | 4th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
1956[b] | First round | 9th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Squad | Automatic qualification | 1956 | ||||||
1960
|
did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 1960 | |||||||||
1964[c]
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1964 | ||||||||||
1968 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1968 | ||||||||||
1972 | Second round | 5th | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 8 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | 1972 | ||||||
1976 | did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1976 | |||||||||
1980 | did not enter | did not enter | 1980 | ||||||||||||||
1984 | Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | Squad | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 1984 | |
1988 | Bronze medal | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 4 | Squad | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 1988 | |
1992 | did not qualify | UEFA European Under-21 Championship | 1992 | ||||||||||||||
1996 | 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
2000 | 2000 | ||||||||||||||||
2004 | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
2008 | 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
2012 | 2012 | ||||||||||||||||
2016 | Silver medal | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 6 | Squad | 2016 | |||||||
2020 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | Squad | 2020 | |||||||
2024 | did not qualify | 2024 | |||||||||||||||
2028 | to be determined | to be determined | |||||||||||||||
2032 | |||||||||||||||||
Total | 2 medals | 10/27 | 37 | 18 | 6* | 13 | 112 | 55 | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 38 | 29 | Total |
- *Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
- **Red border indicates tournament was held on home soil.
- ^ by Germany national team, East Germany national team, United Team of Germany and Germany national under-23 team
- ^ A team from West Germany made up the United Team of Germany
- ^ East Germany won the play-off and represented the United Team of Germany
Honours
Major competitions
Overview | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Event | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place | 4th place |
Summer Olympic Games | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Coaching history
- DFB Committee: 1912 – Stockholm
- Otto Nerz: 1928 – Amsterdam & 1936 – Berlin
- Sepp Herberger: 1952 – Helsinki & 1956 – Melbourne
- Jupp Derwall: 1972 – Munich
- Erich Ribbeck: 1984 – Los Angeles
- Hannes Löhr: 1988 – Seoul
- Horst Hrubesch: 2016 – Rio de Janeiro
- Stefan Kuntz: 2020 – Tokyo
See also
- Sport in Germany
- Germany men's national football team
- Germany men's national football B team
- Germany men's national under-21 football team
- Germany women's national football team
Notes
- ^ by Germany national team, East Germany national team, United Team of Germany and Germany national under-23 team
References
- ^ In Germany, the team is typically referred to as Die Nationalmannschaft (the national team), DFB-Elf (DFB eleven), DFB-Auswahl (DFB selection) or Nationalelf (national eleven). Whereas in foreign media, they are regularly described as (Die) Mannschaft (literally meaning the team).
- ^ "All matches of The National Team in 1912". DFB. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
- ^ a b c Braun, Jutta; Wiese, René (18 September 2009). "Deutsch-deutsche Geisterspiele" [All-German ghost games]. Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ Gerrard, Russell (16 April 2015). "Football Qualifying Tournament". Recreational Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Football at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Football". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Football at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Football Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ Gerrard, Russell (5 April 2018). "Football Qualifying Tournament". Recreational Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ Gerrard, Russell (5 April 2018). "Football Qualifying Tournament". Recreational Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Football at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2018.