Team Honors 14th appearance in World Cup finals (1934, 38, 54, 58, 62, 66, 70, 74, 78, 82, 86, 90, 94 and 98)
Won the World Cup three titmes (1954,1974 and 1990)
Runner-up three times (1966,1982 et 1986), third in 1934 and 1970, fourth in 1958
Three times European Champions (1972,1980,1996), runner-up in 1976 and 1992
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Making their 14th appearance in the World Cup finals - a European record - Germany has an impressive record. Only twice failing to reach the finals (1930 and 1950) Germany has won the trophy three times, been runner-up three times, finished third once and fourth once.
Having a massive pool to call on - there are 6,200,000 registered players in the country - and with top European clubs such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, SV Hamburg and Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany has always performed well on the international stage.
Their international success has also been helped by the refusal to sack managers at the slightest hint of failure. Germany has only had six different coaches since the turn of the century and the teamīs style of play has changed little.
Having a permenant supply of top flight players has also helped. After Fritz Walter, Uwe Seeler, "Kaiser" Franz Beckenbauer, Gunter Netzer, Gerd Muller, Paul Breitner, Sepp Maier, Lothar Mattheus, the team of today is carried by Matthias Sammer (1996 winner of the Golden Ball award), Andreas Kopke, Jurgen Kohler, Olaf Thon, Thomas Helmer, Andreas Moller, Thomas Hassler, Jurgen Klinsmann and Oliver Bierhoff.
Coach Berti Vogts, who as a defender completely controlled Dutch star Johan Cruyff in the World Cup final in 1974, will once again count on a mixture of youth and experience in an attempt to win his first World Cup as manager and help erase the memory of the 1994 Cup in the United States where Germany lost in the quarter-finals to Bulgaria 2-1. Vogts can count on the rising new stars such as Lars Ricken, Dietmar Hamann and Oliver Neuville.
Even if Germany does not always play attractive football it is always a major threat - its players rising to the occasion. In World Cup history, Germany has won the cup three times. In France, Germany will be amongst the favourites, alongside Brazil, Italy, Argentina and the hosts.
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