Markus Babbel blasts Germany national team and picks two nations vying for Euro 2024 glory

In the second part of a Ladbrokes: Fanzone exclusive, former Liverpool defender Markus Babbel discussed the prospects of Germany and England at Euro 2024.

Click on the link for part one in which the Euro 96 winner talked about the Reds’ best player this season and the team he believes will win the Premier League.

Germany could strugggle to get out of group

There are two groups that look very difficult: one being with Austria, France, Netherlands and probably Poland. The other tough one is Italy, Spain, Croatia and Albania. England look to have an easier group, as do Germany, although nothing is easy for Germany right now. Our national team is really struggling. We have good individual players, but we don’t have a team. The team are not performing, they play awful football, they can’t defend, they can’t attack. This is not a team at the moment.

Everyone was celebrating after the draw because it wasn’t the toughest group, but today I would say yes, it is a tough group. I have no fantasy of us winning against Switzerland and Hungry. Our biggest problem is our mindset. I don’t know why they can’t come together as a team. The strikers don’t want to defend, and the defenders don’t want to attack. There is no togetherness. It is so easy to win against us, it’s unbelievable.

The world used to be jealous of our mindset. We always won in the end, because we never gave up. Right now we aren’t fighting anymore. The players think they are better than they are. They aren’t doing their jobs and that is why we are struggling. We are on our fourth manager now so it’s not the manager, it is a problem with the players. You can’t tell me every manager is bad. If the players don’t change their mindset, you will see us drop out in the first stage.

Germany not ready to repeat 2006 heroics

Everyone is dreaming of the World Cup 2006. The team weren’t the best, but they finished third and the whole country was celebrating. The atmosphere in Germany was unbelievable. They are now thinking because the Euros are here that we can do the same again, but the team is just not ready. They might think if they have the crowd behind them, then everything will go well. I do not have the same fantasy in my head. I really just feel sick in my stomach. To be honest, I am surprised we are one of the favourites.

England’s biggest problem is pressure within country

England are one of the exciting teams heading to the Euros because they have so much quality. The mix of experience and youth is brilliant. They don’t just have 11 top players – they have 22 top players. I saw the under 21s last year, and they are going to become great players for them too. I think they can go on and win if they have the right mindset and belief. The only other team I see winning is France. Like England, they have fantastic individual quality, and they know how to win tournaments.

I think the biggest problem England have is the pressure from their own country. It’s so high so the players have to be so strong mentally. If they can handle that pressure, they are one of my favourites to win.