European Championship 2012 preview: Germany

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Joachim Loew is leading Germany to their fourth major competition under his guidance.Tomukas - Thomas Holbach

Germany have been steadily climbing the rankings ahead of the Euro 2012 tournament, are are the bookmaker's favourites to end Spain's reign as Champions.

Having kept the basis of their squad together and built on the attacking principles of Joachim Loew, Germany will be hoping to add a trophy to their plaudits.

FIFA Ranking: 2

**Elo Ranking: **4

Odds: 3-1

Best Performance at European Championships: Three time Winners (1972 and 1980 as West Germany, 1996 as Germany) Germany have won three European Championship tournaments, in one form or another. In 1972 they beat the Soviet Union 3-0 to record their first title. In 1980 they beat Belgium 2-1 to record a second. During the 1996 tournament in England, Germany defeated Croatia, England and the Czech Republic on their way to a Golden Goal victory.

How they qualified: Winners of Group A Germany secured qualification for the European Championships with a perfect record in qualification. Finishing ahead of Turkey, Belgium and Austria, the Germans scored 34 goals in ten matches, conceding just seven.

The Boss: Joachim Loew Graduating to his first high-profile managerial job in 1996, Joachim Loew took Stuttgart to the German Cup and the final of the European Cup Winners Cup. Disappointing spells at Fenerbahce, Karlsruher and Adanaspor were followed by a season at Tirol Innsbruck. In that one season he took the side to the 2002 Austrian title, but they were liquidated at the end of the season.

A brief spell in charge of Austria Vienna was followed by the opportunity to continue with Jurgen Klinsmann's cultural upheaval in German football. Germany were eliminated from the 2006 World Cup at the semi-final stage, and went one stage further in the 2008 European Championships. In 2010 Germany were again knocked out at the semi-final stage.

One to watch: Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen) The 21-year old forward is the latest in a series of exciting flair players being produced by Germany. As you might expect, he has been closely monitored by the great and the good of European football.

Likely line-up: Sticking with the 4-2-3-1 formation that has been so effective in the last six years, Germany will start with Manuel Neuer in goals. The defence will most likely be made up of Philipp Lahm, either Per Mertesacker or Mats Hummels, Holger Badstuber and Jerome Boateng on the left. Sami Khedira will play as the holding midfielder, with Bastian Schweinsteiger alongside. Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski will be deployed behind Mario Gomez.

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