Germany had the distinction of becoming the first team to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland after a scoreless draw in Dublin on 13^th October 2007 against the Republic of Ireland. They did have a couple of hiccups on the way though, which took some of the shine off an otherwise inspiring campaign.

 Coach Joachim Low watched his side break the UEFA European Championship scoring record with an amazing 13-0 away win in San Marino on 6 September 2006, with four goals being scored by Lukas Podolski, but were held to an unexpected 1-1 draw in the GSP Stadium in Nicosia against Cyprus on November 15^th .

They responded to this in magnificent style though by going to Prague and beating the eventual group winners, the Czech Republic 2-1 with a brace of goals from Kevin Kuranyi.

The two teams met again after they had already attained qualification, but Germany suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat in Munich and were consequently booed off the pitch. This result incidentally cemented the Czech Republic’s qualification through to the Euro 2008 finals. Germany eventually finished the group in second place following a 0-0 draw in their final qualifier against Wales.