Germany to face France and Netherlands in March ahead of Euro 2024

The Germany national team will start the year ahead of the Euro 2024 on home soil with friendly matches against France and the Netherlands in March, the German Football Federation (DFB) said on Monday.

The match against World Cup runners-up France is to take place on March 23 in Lyon, while the Netherlands will travel to Frankfurt on March 26.

“Two traditional duels against great football nations are the perfect start to the year of the Euros. France are among the top favourites for the title, and the Netherlands are also a force to be taken into account,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us to be optimally prepared for the first international matches of the year and, above all, for the tournament. There’s still a long way to go, but we’re fired up and really looking forward to these challenges,” he added.

Germany defeated France 2-1 in September shortly after Hansi Flick was dismissed. Germany team director Rudi Völler acted as interim coach back then.

Most recently, Germany appeared to have recovered from poor results when new coach Nagelsmann started with a 3-1 victory against the US and a 2-2 draw with Mexico but the team then lost 3-2 against Turkey and 2-0 in Austria to end any kind of euphoria.

Before the end of this year, the DFB is expected to announce two more friendly matches for the beginning of June 2024. Germany kick off the Euros on June 14 against Scotland before facing Hungary on June 19 and Switzerland on June 23.