In the third in the Euro 2012 series Ben Mepsted runs the rule over the disappointed German team.

Coming into the tournament it seemed like Germany would be the only team with the capability to challenge the mighty Spanish tiki-taka specialists. The Germans had become strangely lovable, they seemed to be playing a version of attacking football that was watchable and brought impressive results with it. All this optimism was tempered by the fact that they were in the so-called ‘Group of Death’ with the Dutch, Portugal and Denmark all within the top ten teams in the world, and all these teams would provide Germany with a strong test.

Therefore the way they came through that group without too much trouble and yet not hitting top gear was really impressive. And with Mario Gomez heading for the golden boot it looked like the Germans would get a chance to prove themselves against the Spanish in the final. It seemed like this team had few weaknesses and were very strong in attack. At the same time that Spain seemed to be stalling the Germans seemed to be finding their stride, scoring goals and playing a style of football that made the tournament stand up and take notice. I heard a stat after the tournament that said that Mario Gomez scored three goals but only touched the ball for 28 seconds, this summed up the ruthless nature of the German team, Gomez didn’t have to have the ball all the time because he just had to wait for the team to create the perfect opportunity for him and invariably he took those opportunities.

After dispatching Greece they were defeated by the impressive Italians and most obviously by Pirlo and Balotelli. The Germans seemed to come up short on ideas at the key moments, they had more of the ball but weren’t able to create the chances of their opposite numbers. It was an unbelievable match and I honestly couldn’t really believe what was happening. This seemed so unlikely before the match began, but Germany seemed a shadow of the team they were earlier in the competition.

Jurgen Klinsmann said in the BBC analysis that before the 2006 world cup he sat down with the German FA and resolved to create a future German team that played a brand of exciting football with young and clever players. This competition seemed to be the one where that idea had come of age. It looked like all they needed was a trophy to prove that they were as good as they appeared to be. But once again they came up short at this tournament when it really mattered, who cares how exciting your play is if you don’t get the results?

So what next for Germany? I don’t think they need to change very much at all, in attacking terms they have many young exciting wingers and although Mario Gomez didn’t perform like the other Mario in the semi final he will grow into being the top German striker for many years to come. It seemed they needed a leader in that semi final; and as much as Bastien Schweinsteiger tried to be that him and Ozil couldn’t provide the chances for either Gomez or Klose to convert. Germany need a trophy to prove that this project was worth it and they will be a serious threat at Brazil, but they need a few players to show themselves when the going gets tough. They haven’t proved that they can win under pressure and when their backs are against the wall. If they do that then this team will really have a chance to have a go at Spain, that final leap however is the hardest; it is very easy to say ‘now go win a trophy’ but do these players have the real belief and quality to dig deep and win that trophy? We will just have to wait until Brazil to find out.

Ben Mepsted