Overview
- Coach Alfreð Gíslason calls this the toughest tournament of his career and resets the initial target to simply reaching the main round.
- The format advances the top two from each four‑team group, carries results against the other qualifier forward, and sends only the top two from each six‑team main round to the semifinals.
- If Germany progresses, analysts project a main‑round field that could include Denmark, Portugal, France and possibly Norway.
- Recent meetings with Spain, Austria and Serbia were tight, highlighting how little margin for error Germany may have in the group stage.
- Germany plays its preliminary games in Herning, opening against Austria on January 15 before facing Serbia on January 17 and Spain on January 19.