From school kids to warriors, Germany must get serious – Khedira

More than one in four Germans have no interest in the upcoming Euro 2024 hosted by their country, the biggest sports event in Germany in almost two decades, a poll conducted for public broadcaster ARD showed on Wednesday.

Organisers and the German national team are hoping to unleash a wave of enthusiasm among the population, similar to the one at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, dubbed 'the summer fairy tale'.

But so far some Germans seem unconvinced, with 27% having no interest in the tournament, starting on June 14 across 10 cities in Germany and ending with the July 14 final in Berlin.

Less than half of those questioned (43%) said they are very interested in the event while 28% are less interested, ARD said.

Germany, three-time European champions and winners of four World Cup trophies, have failed to make any international impact in the past 10 years, having also crashed out in the group stage in consecutive World Cups in 2018 and 2022.

There have been signs of improvement, however, under new coach Julian Nagelsmann who took over in October, with the team scoring two wins and a draw in their last three friendly internationals this year.

They play Greece on Friday in their final warmup game before the tournament starts next week.

Germans also expressed worries over security during the tournament, with 42% being concerned or very concerned over security and only 14% having few concerns.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Tuesday Germany was ramping up security before the start of the event to head off potential threats from Islamists, hooligans, violent individuals and cyberattacks.

Germany expects 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and some 12 million in fan zones for outdoor viewing, she said. But security fears have mounted after a spate of attacks in recent months.

Faeser said there were no concrete indications of a threat but Germany was doing everything possible to make the event safe.

Netherlands outclassed Hungary with a 4-0 victory in their winner-takes-all Nations League encounter on Saturday while record-setting Germany hammered Bosnia and Hercegovina 7-0.

Netherlands and Hungary went into the match tied on five points each and with the winner set to join Germany in ensuring their progress from Group A3 to the quarter-finals.

First-half penalties by Wout Weghorst and Cody Gakpo sent the Oranje on their way, before Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners made the game safe in the second period.

"There are always things we can improve upon," Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk told SBS6. "But in the end, we deserved to win."

The match at the Johan Cruyff Arena was briefly interrupted in the seventh minute following a medical emergency on the Hungarian bench.

The referee stopped play for some 10 minutes while Hungary's assistant coach Adam Szalai received treatment, shielded from view by huddled players and staff members, as well as a large white sheet.

Szalai, 36, was stretchered off to applause from spectators and players alike, the Hungarian FA later released a statement saying he was "conscious" and in a "stable condition" at an Amsterdam hospital.

"It was a scare of course," Gakpo told NOS. "Fortunately, I just heard he regained consciousness on the pitch. Things like this are more important than football."

Almost forgotten in the aftermath of the worrying incident was the handball by Tamas Nikitscher as the ball was crossed into the Hungarian box.

The referee consulted the touchline video monitor and promptly restarted play by pointing to the spot, allowing Weghorst to sweep the Netherlands in front.

Denes Dibusz was the busier of the two goalkeepers as the first period wore on and had to be alert to keep out efforts from Tijjani Reijnders and Donyell Malen.

In the 11th minute of added time, Dutch dominance told and Malen was clipped by Zsolt Nagy in the box.

Gakpo dispatched the resulting spot-kick, sending Dibusz the wrong way and Netherlands into a two-goal lead.

Right-back Dumfries sealed the Netherlands' spot in the quarters as he latched onto Malen's flick-on at the back post and fizzed a volley back into the far corner shortly after the hour.

Koopmeiners marked his first international match since 2022 by nodding in a fourth in the 86th minute.

- 'Good fun' -
Germany cemented their spot at the top of the group with a 7-0 win over Bosnia -- the heaviest in the six-year history of the Nations League.

"It was good fun tonight. After a couple of goals we did the work defensively and then everything came together offensively. The more that happens, the more fun we have on the pitch," German attacker Jamal Musiala told UEFA's website.

Musiala opened the floodgates after two minutes with a header from Joshua Kimmich's cross.

Tim Kleindienst scored his first goal for Germany in the 23rd minute and Kai Havertz made the game safe eight minutes before the break, slotting home after a slick one-two with Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz then made it four on 50 minutes with a sublime swerving free-kick from wide on the left, before doubling up seven minutes later.

"Seeing Flo (Wirtz's) free-kick was kind of nice but just in general everyone played well, had good moments. We're just playing good football," added Musiala.

Substitute Leroy Sane scored Germany's sixth in the 66th minute and Kleindienst completed the rout just over 10 minutes from time as he guided home a pinpoint cross from centre-half Antonio Rudiger.

The emphatic result leaves Germany five points ahead of Netherlands with only one match left to play.

In Group B1, Georgia played out a 1-1 draw at home to Ukraine and stay two points ahead of the fourth-placed visitors.

The Czech Republic drew 0-0 in Albania and remain top of the group on eight points, one ahead of Georgia in second and their third-placed opponents.

Turkey stayed top of Group B4 with a 0-0 draw at home to Wales, while Iceland beat Montenegro 2-0.

Turkey were presented with a golden opportunity to grow their two-point lead over Wales but Kerem Akturkoglu sent his 89th-minute penalty wide.

The Champions League anthem is ready to sound again for football fans around the world.

It's the most prestigious club competition there is and, for Real Madrid, it is the greatest challenge once again. But it looks like a difficult one.

With a new coach following the controversial sacking of Carlo Ancelotti at the end of last season, the bar has been set very high for Rafa Benitez in 2015-16.

Without many new signings for his playing squad, however, the former Liverpool and Napoli boss may find it tough to compete for Europe's biggest prize.

There is no new striker at the club, even though Javier Hernandez left after his loan spell, while Mateo Kovacic is not the central midfielder many believed necessary and Casemiro returns to replace Sami Khedira in a slightly different role.

The defence is intact and looks strong, but instead of Iker Casillas or David De Gea in goal, Madrid now have the less experienced Keylor Navas and Kiko Casilla - with just two Champions League appearances between them.

Madrid's group is not the easiest, with Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo and Paris Saint-Germain the rivals following the recent draw and its new format.

The Parisian side is one of the strongest in the competition and especially interesting will be the return of Angel Di Maria to the Santiago Bernabeu and the visit of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Parc des Princes.

Both Madrid and PSG will be expected to progress, but an experienced Shakhtar side could be the surprise and Real face an uncomfortable trip to Ukraine, with the country still in conflict.

The visit to Sweden in November also looks tough, although the opposition shouldn't offer too much resistance to a team like Madrid.

So are Real favourites to top the group? Of course.

Even with James Rodriguez and Danilo likely to miss the first half of the group stages, Madrid will be expected to emerge as victors.

But are they favourites to win the Champions League? That is a much tougher proposition.

Madrid, as usual, will be in the mix for the title, but they are up against a set of rivals that have strengthened well this summer.

Barcelona (with Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal able to feature in the knockout stages), Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City and Juventus will all be in contention, with PSG perhaps a step back.

Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L) is congratulated by Real Madrid's Welsh forward Gareth Bale. Photo: AFP

Other sides like Manchester United and Arsenal will also be looking to challenge, making it a highly competitive Champions League for Madrid, with Los Blancos beginning a new project while many of the other teams in contention are already established and will be hoping to build on their past work in this competition.

The positives? Madrid's defence looks to be in good hands with Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Raphael Varane all still at the club.

In central midfield, the Toni Kroos-Luka Modric axis is intact as well and should grow in its second season.

And on top of that, the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese is Madrid's most reliable thermometer: when he is on form, so is the team. And Benitez needs to make sure that is the case.

After that there are many more key players, such as Karim Benzema, Isco, James and Gareth Bale.

All of them are elite footballers and if they can be decisive for Madrid in the biggest matches, the famous trophy could be back at the Bernabeu for an 11th time next May.

Bale in particular is under scrutiny. A hero in his first season as Madrid claimed La Decima, he was disappointing last term and how he fares in the free role under Benitez is likely to have a big bearing this time around.

If he can live up to the hefty price paid to Tottenham in 2013 and match his heroics from Lisbon last year, the Welshman - along with Ronaldo - could be the key to success for Real in the Champions League this season.

Switzerland hit back with a thunderous strike by Granit Xhaka and a last-minute breakaway goal by Xherdan Shaqiri to claim a famous 2-1 win over Serbia on Friday in a swashbuckling World Cup Group E match tinged with Balkan rivalry.

The Swiss looked in danger of being over-run when Serbia went ahead with an Aleksandar Mitrovic header after five minutes to the delight of their fervent supporters at the Kaliningrad stadium.

Xhaka silenced the Serbian contingent in the 52nd minute, however, when he rifled home a loose ball in spectacular style from 25 metres before Shaqiri ran onto a through ball and finished with aplomb to win the game at the death.

Xhaka and Shaqiri are among several members of the Swiss squad who are of Kosovar heritage, which added an extra dimension to the match.

Serbia refuses to recognise the independence of its former province Kosovo which broke away 10 years ago.

"It's clear that emotions were displayed up and I think we all need to steer away from politics and focus on this sport as a beautiful game that brings people together," Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic told reporters.

There was also controversy in the 65th minute when Mitrovic appeared to be held down as he went for a cross but the referee waved play on and there was no video review.

The result left Brazil, 2-0 winners over Costa Rica, top with four points, ahead of Switzerland on goal difference with Serbia on three.

Serbia must beat Brazil in their final game to qualify without relying on the result of the Swiss game against Costa Rica, who are eliminated after losing their first two games.

"This is football, we did not convert some of our chances," Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic said. "Whether this was a penalty or not, I will not comment on that.

"We’re in a situation where we need a win against Brazil on and we will focus and do whatever we can to try and win. Nothing is impossible in life."

FLYING START

Serbia made a flying start and Mitrovic forced Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer into an early save with a close-range header.

Sommer was powerless, however, in the fifth minute when Nemanja Matic won the ball and found Dusan Tadic, whose cross was met with a soaring header from Mitrovic.

With Mitrovic proving a handful for the Swiss defence, Serbia threatened to over-run their opponents and missed another chance when a corner flew across the face of goal and Dusko Tosic just failed to make contact.

Switzerland came right back into the game seven minutes after halftime thanks to Xhaka's fulminating strike after a rebound fell nicely into his path.

Xhaka was almost upstaged by Shaqiri who clipped the crossbar with a curling, dipping shot from the unlikeliest of angles and the match turned into a pulsating end-to-end affair which was brilliantly settled by Shaqiri.

Switzerland cleared a Serbia attack and a through pass sent the diminutive forward scuttling away before he slotted the ball neatly into the far corner.

"What is important is that we have developed this winning mentality even when we are down," said Petkovic, whose side have lost only one of their last 24 games.

"We always find a reaction. This is an important characteristic of my team."

France midfielder Paul Pogba said the finals in Russia might be his last World Cup but he hopes he will be fit for more.

"It might be my last World Cup," the Manchester United player, 25, told a news conference ahead of Tuesday's Group C final game against Denmark.

France have already qualified for the last 16 and will secure top spot if they avoid defeat.

"I'm realistic, we don't know if I'll be called up, maybe other players will be better than me," added Pogba.

"I hope I'll play more. I've already had the chance to play two, some can only dream to play one."