Germany

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer announced his retirement from international soccer on Wednesday after playing 124 times for his country since 2009.

The 38-year-old Bayern Munich player won the golden glove when Germany won the World Cup in 2014.

Manuel Neuer retires

STUTTGART, Germany, July 5 (Reuters) - A Mikel Merino goal in extra time gave Spain a dramatic 2-1 win over Germany in an enthralling quarter-final clash on Friday between the two most successful European Championship nations.

The game was into the 119th minute and looked set for a penalty shootout before substitute Merino rose to head home the winning goal from Dani Olmo's cross and break the hearts of the majority of the crowd inside the Stuttgart Arena.

Mikel Merino last-minute goal vs. Germany

COLOGNE, Germany, June 30 (Reuters) - Stylish Spain recovered from the shock of conceding an early own goal to eventually overrun a tireless and spirited Georgia 4-1 on Sunday and surge into a mouth-watering Euro 2024 quarter-final with Germany.

Spain overcome early Georgia scare with 4-1 victory to advance in Euro 2024

Germany’s 2-0 Round of 16 victory vs. Denmark experienced a delay in the first half due to some of the craziest severe weather we’ve seen at a professional soccer game.

Around the 34th minute the game was temporarily suspended due to lightning near the stadium in Dortmund. The players hovered around the field for several minutes before retreating to the locker room.

The suspension lasted around 25 minutes as intense lightning strikes lit up the sky, hail came down and waterfalls appeared in the stadium. Craziness.

STUTTGART — Goals from Jamal Musiala and Ilkay Gundogan gave Germany a comfortable 2-0 win over Hungary in Group A on Wednesday that made the host nation the first side to qualify for the knockout stage at Euro 2024.

With two wins out of two, the Germans are guaranteed to be at least among the four best third-placed teams. They will finish in the top two of the group if Scotland fail to beat Switzerland later on Wednesday.

That scenario would also prevent Hungary from finishing in the top two.

Germany vs Hungary highlights

Germany torched poor Scotland 5-1 in the Euro 2024 opener on Friday with a dominant performance. The visitors failed to record more than one shot against the hosts in the one-sided contest.

With the game being so lopsided American fans turned their attention toward other aspects like the commentary provided by FOX Sports from Ian Darke and Landon Donovan.

Germany and Real Madrid midfielder and legend Toni Kroos is hanging up his boots he announced on Tuesday. One of the greatest midfielders to ever do it will compete for his sixth UEFA Champions League trophy and Euro 2024 before he finishes playing.

Kroos began his career with Bayern Munich, played with the club until 2014 winning a Champions League title and then made his big move to Madrid.

The rest is history.

Toni Kroos retires

Former Germany and Bayern Munich striker Mario Gómez provided fans with a scorching hot take and interesting debate. 

Appearing on the podcast “Phrasenmäher”, Gómez made the argument that Manuel Neuer’s legacy is just as important to the sport as Lionel Messi’s.

"I would put Manuel Neuer on the same level as Messi in terms of importance in football history," Gómez said. "I don't know if we're all aware of what we experienced with a goalkeeper who revolutionized the game! We'll only understand this 20 years from now."

Does Gómez have a point?

The design for the number four on Germany's national team shirts will be changed over concerns that the number '44' resembled the symbol used by Nazi 'SS' units, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Monday.

The new kit, launched before Germany host the European Championship in June and July, debuted during their 2-0 friendly win over France last month.

Germany 44 kit