03.06.2024

Supporters see the DFB team as one of the favourites to win the tournament, but are still critical when it comes to identification

Cologne. The European Football Championship kicks off in Germany in less than two weeks' time. While there was no great euphoria in the spring, the mood in the country has now changed somewhat. This is probably primarily due to the recent convincing performances of the national team and the German clubs on the international stage as well as the association's marketing campaigns, for example as part of the squad nomination of national coach Julian Nagelsmann.

Against this backdrop, FanQ conducted a representative study asking over 3,000 people how they currently feel about the DFB and what chances they think the German team has in the upcoming tournament. The results are representative of the German population. Weighting factors for key socio-demographic characteristics were taken into account.

As part of the piecemeal announcement of the European Championship squad, the association has tried to appeal to all sections of the country's population. Although the measures have certainly attracted a lot of attention, German football fans are divided on the matter. For example, 43.0 % of respondents think that the manner of the nomination was a good idea, while 35.7 % of respondents found the large number of video messages annoying.

Nevertheless, more than half of all supporters (57.6 %) are quite satisfied with the provisional line-up of the German national team. In the corresponding survey, 39.6 % of football fans awarded four stars out of a possible five, and a further 18.0 % of respondents even awarded five stars. In contrast, 17.8 % voted with just one (9.4 %) or two stars (8.4 %).

One professional that more than half of all fans miss in national coach Julian Nagelsmann's squad is BVB defender Mats Hummels (56.5 %). In addition, a proportion of all respondents would have liked Leon Goretzka (FC Bayern Munich, 34.1 %) or Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund, 26.7 %) to take part in the tournament.

Although the majority of supporters (63.1 %) attest to a strong (43.9 %) or even very strong (19.2 %) connection with the national team, almost two thirds of all survey participants (61.9 %) state that their identification with the DFB team was greater in the past. However, this figure has improved by more than 20 percentage points from an extremely low level. Before the convincing victories against France (2:0) and the Netherlands (2:1), it was still at 85.6 %.

Did you identify more with the national team in the past?
Answer: Yes
Survey	30.06.2023	23.03.2024	03.06.2024
Percentage value	87,8 %	85,6 %	61,9 %

In terms of the DFB's image, the association also scored rather averagely. For example, 41.5 % of all respondents rated it with just one (22.1 %) or two (19.4 %) stars out of five. In contrast, only 26.6 % % of all fans currently have a positive view of the DFB's reputation and answer the question with four (17.5 %) or a full five stars (9.1 %).

Regardless of the association structures, supporters have high hopes for coach Julian Nagelsmann's team at the upcoming home European Championships. Only the Equipe Tricolore, which only lost to Lionel Messi's Argentina in the final of the last World Cup, is ahead of the DFB team (25.6%) in terms of the top favourites for EURO 2024 with a total of 31.9 % of all votes. They were followed by the national teams of Spain (14.2 %) and England (13.7 %). Only 3.9 % of all respondents believed that the Squadra Azzurra could defend their title.

However, when fans are asked specifically about the German national team's chances of success at the upcoming tournament, opinions differ somewhat more widely. A total of 29.8 % of respondents believe that the DFB team will be eliminated in the group stage (17.0 %) or in the round of 16 (12.8%). A further 18.1 % assume that Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Co. will make it through to the quarter-finals. In turn, slightly more than half of all survey participants (51.0 %) are convinced that the German national team will make it to the last four. 20.5 % of them believe in a semi-final exit, 16.9 % in a defeat in the final and 13.6 % in the title.

All in all, it is therefore hardly surprising that anticipation for the European Championship at home has picked up significantly in recent weeks and months. Around two months ago, only 26.9 % of all respondents rated the corresponding question with four (11.3 %) or five stars (15.6 %). Less than two weeks before the start of the tournament, this figure now stands at 59.9 %, with 19.2 % voting with four stars and 40.7 % with a full five stars.

How excited are you about the EURO 2024 in Germany?
Answer: four or five out of five possible stars
Survey	18.06.2023	30.06.2023	23.03.2024	03.06.2024
Percentage value	39,1 %	23,8 %	26,9 %	59,9 %

If the DFB team actually performs well at the home European Championships, association president Bernd Neuendorf and his colleagues could perhaps justifiably hope for a further improvement in the mood in the country.

 

We will publish the full study soon and make it available here.

If you have any editorial queries about the survey results, please contact us.

FanQ Im Mediapark 5
50670 Cologne
joachim.lammert@fanq.com
0163-5293000
Kilian Weber/Joachim Lammert
Managing Director