As Germany prepares to host Euro 2024, the 2006 World Cup - the last major international football tournament on German soil - still plays a formative role in the nation's collective consciousness. On the field, the German team coached by Jurgen Klinsmann overcame dire pre-tournament predictions to make it to the semi-finals. Despite losing in extra time to eventual champions Italy and eventually finishing third, Germany's performance kick-started a decade of dominance that peaked with the 2014 World Cup triumph in Brazil. Off the field, the tournament changed not only the way the world saw Germany, but the manner in which Germany saw itself. "From there, we saw German flags and singing the anthem at Germany games -- something which just didn't exist before."

Source: The Nation May 14, 2024 17:16 UTC