Germany are eight-time Women's European champions - so why were they written off before England 2022?

Going into this summer’s Women’s Euros, Germany star Giulia Gwinn admitted things were “a bit” weird. Not because of anything she or her team-mates were saying or doing. It was simply down to the fact that the eight-time European champions were just not being talked about as potential winners.

In their first five games of 2022, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side won one, drew one and lost three. There were mitigating circumstances at February’s Arnold Clark Cup due to injuries and Covid-19, but a 3-2 defeat to Serbia in April only strengthened the growing belief that this team wouldn’t be ready to challenge for the Euros title in England.

That all changed in June, though, when Germany played their one and only pre-tournament friendly.

“We didn't really feel the pressure from the external factor,” Lena Oberdorf, the versatile German wonderkid who was GOAL’s 2020 NXGN winner, explained.

“It was more that we put ourselves under pressure because we know what kind of quality we have and we know what kind of players we have.

"Then, it's just showing this because, in the past, we also had those games where we didn't really get it on the pitch and everybody was like, 'Nah, Germany, they're not going to do anything this tournament.'

“Then, we won 7-0 against Switzerland. Everybody was like, 'They're going to win!'”

That rout of their neighbours changed the conversation on the outside.

But the key reason this team has had such an incredible tournament so far – beating Denmark 4-0, Spain 2-0 and Finland 3-0 in the group stages to set-up a quarter-final against Austria – is not because they are focused on fulfilling outside expectations.

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“I think the biggest pressure is from within," defender Sophia Kleinherne believes. “Our self-given objective is to play the best possible tournament.

"As a team, we know how to deal with that. It is the target and objective for all of us, from the players to the kit men.”

There’s a reason why they put that pressure on themselves. After all, this is a talented team well-capable of winning the Euros. A look at the squad list and it’s clear to see.

In Alexandra Popp, they have one of Germany’s greatest ever players, a versatile leader with two Champions League titles to her name.

Goalkeeper Merle Frohms is easily one of the best in the world, her highlights reel at this tournament so far only supporting that claim.

Then, there are the young stars making their mark, such as Klara Buhl and Nicole Anyomi, both goalscorers in England this summer.

But it’s also about the experience throughout this team – not just in a player like Popp, but also those still in their early 20s. Oberdorf and Gwinn, for example, have both already played at major tournaments.

“I don't recognise that I'm 20,” Oberdorf, now a staple of this side, said. “I feel like when I'm on the pitch, everybody sees me as like a 28-year-old player.

"On the pitch, I just forget about my age, just play, just have fun, just get into the duels – because that's what I can do the best.”

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Gwinn herself was named Best Young Player at the 2019 World Cup and has talked about sharing her “experience” with those in the team. She’s 23 years old.

“I think with three years between the two tournaments, I think I got more confident,” she explained. “We have many young players, so I can maybe just give them something from my experience and just be happy to be back on the pitch after my [ACL] injury.”

It’s no surprise, then, that they are the team to beat so far at the Euros.

They have leadership, talent and belief throughout the squad, as well as a wonderful winning mentality and an ability to cope with pressure, having been under it so often with club and country.

Combined, this is all going to be incredibly hard to stop. Denmark, the 2017 runners-up, tried and failed. Spain, the pre-tournament favourites for so many, tried and failed. Finland, who scored against the latter after less than a minute in their group-stage encounter, tried and failed.

Next in line is Austria, a team that has 13 players in Germany’s domestic league. They know plenty about their opponent. They know their strengths and they know their weaknesses, as a team and as individuals.

But it’s one thing to put a plan together to stop them, and another altogether to actually be able to do so.