As expected, the German national football team will not play a guest role in qualifying for the 2024 home European Championship.
Oliver Bierhoff confirmed to the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland” that the team of national coach Hansi Flick would only play friendly games in preparation for the tournament.
“As the hosts of the 2024 European Championship, we are already qualified for the finals in the summer. This gives us the greatest possible flexibility when organizing the international match phases next year and we can optimally prepare for the 2024 European Championship against several strong friendly opponents,” said the managing director of national teams and Academy in the German Football Association.
Theoretically, EM host Germany could have played in one of the groups without a rating. World Cup hosts Qatar last did this in qualifying for the finals of the World Cup on their own country.
But that would have had the disadvantage that the DFB selection could not choose their opponents themselves.
The draw for the European Championship qualification will take place on October 9th in Frankfurt am Main.