Germany at The World Cup - Animated Histories

The German national team, or de Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft value consistency. So, after losing their first ever game to Switzerland, they lost their next three matches too, including a 9-0 defeat by England amateurs, still their biggest loss. Showing very un-German timekeeping, they missed the first World Cup altogether, only making it to the next one, where they came a pretty decent third. In world news, Germany then annexed Austria, gaining them a few extra players for the next World Cup in 1938. But they were knocked out in the first round, a great blow to their naitonal pride, which was no excuse for what followed. After the Second World War, Germany were ostracised and didn't play in the World Cup until 1954. By now they had, not one, but three teams: East, West and Saarland. Saarland was a French occupied territory. They only featured in one World Cup qualifying campaign, where they were knocked out by West Germany. East Germany only ever qualified for one World Cup and no European Championships. West Germany made it to the World Cup final on their big return in 1954, where they faced favourites Hungary and they won, a great boost to their national pride. They then had to wait another 20 years before their next World Cup triumph. They came pretty close in 1966, only to be denied by a dodgy Russian linesman and a team who haven't a tournament since. But they took their revenge in 1970, beating England in the quarters, before losing the semis to Italy in a match heralded as the game of the century. Like many teams, West Germany didn't bother with the Euros at first, but they got their act together by the fourth tournament in 1972 and went and won it, for capitalism. The 1970s proved a bit of a golden era for West Germany. With typical efficiency, they both hosted the 1974 World Cup and won it, beating Holland 2-1. They then got to yet another final in the Euros, where Czechoslovakia beat them on penalties. But they learnt from that mistake and have never lost on spotkicks since. And Germany's success was far from over. They got to their third successive European final in 1980 and won again. After three straight Euro finals they reached the next three World Cup finals, winning one in 1990, naturally beating England on penalties along the way. And into the 1990s, the Berlin Wall comes down and Germany one people make it into the Euro 1992 finals, where they lose 2-0 to Denmark. Their next success came punctually, four years later. In Euro 1996 they beat England on penalties for a change and then defeated the Czech Republic to win the championship. And they haven't won anything since. Alright, so they got to the finals in 2002 and then again in 2008 but they haven't actually won anything since 1996. At least, not yet.