Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said Scotland are a dangerous team who will aim to take advantage of the pressure the hosts are under when they meet in Friday's Euro 2024 opener, but he sees self belief in his players and hunger for success.

"Scotland isn't a team full of world stars, but that makes them dangerous, because they are very agile players who give everything, with classic Scottish mentality," he told a press conference on Thursday.

While Germany do feel the pressure and tension ahead of the tournament's opening game, that was necessary, Nagelsmann added, and the team is fully fit and prepared.

"When I look in my players' eyes ... I see a lot of belief and a lot of confidence, which is what I want ... we have the home advantage, we want to win."

"We can beat pressure, and we can beat Scotland as well."

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Germany have won four World Cups and three European Championship titles but their stellar tournament reputation has been somewhat tarnished with a series of failures since their 2014 World Cup victory in Brazil.

They went out of the next two World Cups in the group stage, their worst showing in over 80 years, and exited the last Euros in the round of 16.

"We will have more pressure on us than Scotland and they will want to capitalise on that," said Nagelsmann, who took over as Germany manager in October 2023.

Scotland can create chances and retain ball possession and will put the Germany defence under stress in the Group A match. "We have to stay focused to avoid crosses," he added.

Nagelsmann said he was feeling emotional ahead of the match, describing how he comes from a tiny village with 700 inhabitants and more cows than people, and now was preparing for the opening game of Euro 2024 in Munich.

Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan said Nagelsmann gave the players clarity and conveyed a sense of calm which had helped the team.

"The coach gives us confidence, a clear direction, he has discussed roles with us ... everyone knows what is expected of them and can give their all on the pitch, and that helps us a great deal after the negative experiences of the last tournaments.

"No other game is like the first one, because then you can use that momentum and that euphoria for the next few games, and that is why the most important objective tomorrow is to win the game," he said.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said Scotland are a dangerous team who will aim to take advantage of the pressure the hosts are under when they meet in Friday's Euro 2024 opener, but he sees self belief in his players and hunger for success.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said Scotland are a dangerous team who will aim to take advantage of the pressure the hosts are under when they meet in Friday's Euro 2024 opener, but he sees self belief in his players and hunger for success. "Scotland isn't a team full of world stars, but that makes them dangerous, because they are very agile players who give everything, with classic Scottish mentality," he told a press conference on Thursday. While Germany do feel the pressure and tension ahead of the tournament's opening game, that was necessary, Nagelsmann added, and the team is fully fit and prepared. "When I look in my players' eyes ... I see a lot of belief and a lot of confidence, which is what I want ... we have the home advantage, we want to win." "We can beat pressure, and we can beat Scotland as well." ALSO READ: Euro 2024: Abusing England players online could land fans in trouble. Here's how Germany have won four World Cups and three European Championship titles but their stellar tournament reputation has been somewhat tarnished with a series of failures since their 2014 World Cup victory in Brazil. They went out of the next two World Cups in the group stage, their worst showing in over 80 years, and exited the last Euros in the round of 16. "We will have more pressure on us than Scotland and they will want to capitalise on that," said Nagelsmann, who took over as Germany manager in October 2023. Scotland can create chances and retain ball possession and will put the Germany defence under stress in the Group A match. "We have to stay focused to avoid crosses," he added. Nagelsmann said he was feeling emotional ahead of the match, describing how he comes from a tiny village with 700 inhabitants and more cows than people, and now was preparing for the opening game of Euro 2024 in Munich. Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan said Nagelsmann gave the players clarity and conveyed a sense of calm which had helped the team. "The coach gives us confidence, a clear direction, he has discussed roles with us ... everyone knows what is expected of them and can give their all on the pitch, and that helps us a great deal after the negative experiences of the last tournaments. "No other game is like the first one, because then you can use that momentum and that euphoria for the next few games, and that is why the most important objective tomorrow is to win the game," he said.

Julian Nagelsmann backs Germany to beat pressure and Scotland in Euro 2024 opener

German men's football&nbsp;team head coach Julian Nagelsmann has slammed a public broadcaster for conducting a survey where participants were quizzed if they preferred more white players in the squad.&nbsp;

German state broadcaster ARD conducted the contentious survey of 1,304 randomly selected participants and found that 21 per cent would prefer it&nbsp;if more players in the national team were white-skinned.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“I thought about it briefly and I have the feeling that we need to wake up a bit," said Nagelsmann ahead of the start of the Euro 2024.&nbsp;

“There are people in Europe who’ve had to flee because of war, economic factors, environmental disasters, people who simply want to be taken in. We have to ask what are we doing at the moment? We in Germany are doing very, very well, and when we say something like that, I think it’s crazy how we turn a blind eye and simply block out such things.”

Nagelsmann's statement comes after midfielder Joshua Kimmich called the survey&nbsp;as "absolutely racist" and said it was "madness for a public broadcaster" to ask such a daft question.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Anyone who’s grown up with soccer knows this is absolute nonsense. Soccer in particular is a good example of how you can unite different nations, different skin colours and different religions,” Kimmich said.

“That’s what our team is all about. I would miss a lot of players if they weren’t here. This is absolutely racist and has no place in our changing room.”

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/adidas-is-redesigning-no4-on-german-national-football-sides-kit-ahead-of-euro-2024-heres-why-706775">Also read |&nbsp;Adidas is redesigning No. 4 on German national football team’s kit ahead of Euro 2024. Here’s why</a>

<h2>Expression of situation in Germany</h2>

After the furore, sports director of ARD said the company was dismayed at the results "but they are also an expression of the social situation Germany today".&nbsp;

The German side has several players with mixed heritage, including the likes of captain Ilkay Gundogan, defender Antonio Rudiger and winger Leroy Sane who remain key to the team's fortunes in the upcoming tournament.&nbsp;

Germany is the host nation for this year's European Championship and will play the opener against Scotland in Munich on June 14.&nbsp;

Earlier this year, Adidas said it was redesigning the&nbsp;national team's kit containing the number ‘4’ to avoid Nazi symbolism. In a statement released by the DFB (German Football Association), it confirmed the slight change as the No. '44' resembled the symbol used by Nazi 'SS' units.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

German men's football team head coach Julian Nagelsmann has slammed a public broadcaster for conducting a survey where participants were quizzed if they preferred more white players in the squad.

German men's football team head coach Julian Nagelsmann has slammed a public broadcaster for conducting a survey where participants were quizzed if they preferred more white players in the squad. German state broadcaster ARD conducted the contentious survey of 1,304 randomly selected participants and found that 21 per cent would prefer it if more players in the national team were white-skinned. “I thought about it briefly and I have the feeling that we need to wake up a bit," said Nagelsmann ahead of the start of the Euro 2024. “There are people in Europe who’ve had to flee because of war, economic factors, environmental disasters, people who simply want to be taken in. We have to ask what are we doing at the moment? We in Germany are doing very, very well, and when we say something like that, I think it’s crazy how we turn a blind eye and simply block out such things.” Nagelsmann's statement comes after midfielder Joshua Kimmich called the survey as "absolutely racist" and said it was "madness for a public broadcaster" to ask such a daft question. “Anyone who’s grown up with soccer knows this is absolute nonsense. Soccer in particular is a good example of how you can unite different nations, different skin colours and different religions,” Kimmich said. “That’s what our team is all about. I would miss a lot of players if they weren’t here. This is absolutely racist and has no place in our changing room.” Also read | Adidas is redesigning No. 4 on German national football team’s kit ahead of Euro 2024. Here’s why Expression of situation in Germany After the furore, sports director of ARD said the company was dismayed at the results "but they are also an expression of the social situation Germany today". The German side has several players with mixed heritage, including the likes of captain Ilkay Gundogan, defender Antonio Rudiger and winger Leroy Sane who remain key to the team's fortunes in the upcoming tournament. Germany is the host nation for this year's European Championship and will play the opener against Scotland in Munich on June 14. Earlier this year, Adidas said it was redesigning the national team's kit containing the number ‘4’ to avoid Nazi symbolism. In a statement released by the DFB (German Football Association), it confirmed the slight change as the No. '44' resembled the symbol used by Nazi 'SS' units. (With inputs from agencies)

German coach blasts ‘racist’ state broadcaster for survey asking if team should have more white players

Germany has and will always remain the talk of the town whenever the FIFA World Cup arrives. Four-time winners are one of the strongest teams at this year’s edition of the World Cup despite not having a few big names in their 26-man squad. So who made it to the final list and who misses out, let’s know about them in this piece.

Germany’s 26-man squad –

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt).

Defenders: Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Antonio Ruediger (Real Madrid), Niklas Suele (Borussia Dortmund), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Lukas Klostermann, Armel Bella Kotchap (Southampton), Christian Guenter (Freiburg).

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/england-at-fifa-world-cup-2022-who-made-it-to-gareth-southgates-26-man-squad-535574">England at FIFA World Cup 2022 – Who made it to Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad?</a>

Midfielders: Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Mueller (all Bayern Munich), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Mario Goetze (Eintracht Frankfurt).

Forwards: Kai Havertz (Chelsea), Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund), Niklas Fuellkrug (Werder Bremen), Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund).

Who are the notable omissions?

It’s never easy to pick a perfect squad for any major event. Always a couple of names miss out due to some reason for the other.

This time the 2014-World Cup champions will miss the services of big names such as Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus, defender Mats Hummels, and striker Timo Werner.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/fifa-world-cup-2022-opening-ceremony-when-and-where-to-watch-who-are-the-performers-535560">FIFA World Cup 2022 opening ceremony: When and where to watch? Who are the performers?</a>

Which group is Germany part of and when are their matches?

Germany is placed in Group E alongside former World Cup winners Spain, Japan, and Costa Rica. The Germans will play their first game against Japan on November 23rd while their clash against Spain is scheduled on November 28th. They will play their last group match against Costa Rica on Friday, December 2nd.

Germany has and will always remain the talk of the town whenever the FIFA World Cup arrives. Four-time winners are one of the strongest teams at this year’s edition of the World Cup despite not having a few big names in their 26-man squad.

Germany has and will always remain the talk of the town whenever the FIFA World Cup arrives. Four-time winners are one of the strongest teams at this year’s edition of the World Cup despite not having a few big names in their 26-man squad. So who made it to the final list and who misses out, let’s know about them in this piece. Germany’s 26-man squad – Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt). Defenders: Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Antonio Ruediger (Real Madrid), Niklas Suele (Borussia Dortmund), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Lukas Klostermann, Armel Bella Kotchap (Southampton), Christian Guenter (Freiburg). ALSO READ: England at FIFA World Cup 2022 – Who made it to Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad? Midfielders: Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Mueller (all Bayern Munich), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Mario Goetze (Eintracht Frankfurt). Forwards: Kai Havertz (Chelsea), Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund), Niklas Fuellkrug (Werder Bremen), Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund). Who are the notable omissions? It’s never easy to pick a perfect squad for any major event. Always a couple of names miss out due to some reason for the other. This time the 2014-World Cup champions will miss the services of big names such as Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus, defender Mats Hummels, and striker Timo Werner. ALSO READ: FIFA World Cup 2022 opening ceremony: When and where to watch? Who are the performers? Which group is Germany part of and when are their matches? Germany is placed in Group E alongside former World Cup winners Spain, Japan, and Costa Rica. The Germans will play their first game against Japan on November 23rd while their clash against Spain is scheduled on November 28th. They will play their last group match against Costa Rica on Friday, December 2nd.

Germany at FIFA World Cup 2022 – Who made it to the 26-man squad?