Euro 2012 team profiles

Germany
Team Profile: With three World Cup and three European Championship trophies already in the cabinet, Germany are among the world’s most successful football-playing nations. Highly organised and disciplined are perhaps some of the clichéd descriptions of Germany’s game, but recent tournament performances under Jürgen Klinsmann and current manager Joachim Löw have produced some breathtaking attacking displays. You’d be crazy not to expect them to do well – as Franz Beckenbauer discovered during the last Euros, when he wrote off Germany’s chances of beating Portugal in the quarter-finals, only to be made to eat his words following their 3-2 victory. But there won’t be any surprises this summer; the Germans’ road to qualification yielded an impressive ten wins from ten matches, with veteran striker Miroslav Klose still proving he’s got what it takes, netting nine times along the way. Plus you can rely on them not to bottle it during a penalty shootout. Mark our words: never write off the Germans.