Germany stormed through their qualifying campaign: they were the first to book their place in Poland and Ukraine, won every match, and earned more points than any other team.

After a narrow win away to Belgium in their opener, the three-time European champions earned big victories in all their other fixtures but for one, a 2-1 road win over Austria in which Mario Gomez fired home a last-minute winner.

There were many changes between the squad that featured in the opener and the one deployed in the final matchday in October, but whether Gomez or Miroslav Klose started in attack, whether Bastian Schweinsteiger or Toni Kroos ran the midfield, or otherwise, one thing was consistent: Germany were dominant.

Germany are the tournament's most successful nation. Their first win came in their first appearance in 1972 when Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, and Paul Breitner marched through the tournament, beating the Soviet Union 3-0 in the final.

Germany went on to repeat the triumph eight years later as Horst Hrubesch's late strike sunk Belgium in the final. After a poor 1984 tournament, they steadily improved before claiming their third title in 1996 as Oliver Bierhoff netted a golden goal in the final against the Czech Republic.

Germany's disaster at Euro 2000 prompted a youth initiative in the Bundesliga that has resulted in their vastly increased talent pool as of late, and after finishing runners-up at Euro 2008, they are hungry for a first tournament win in 16 years.

COACH - Joachim Loew
Since taking over from Jurgen Klinsmann in 2006, the former assistant national team coach has enjoyed an immensely successful run, but as of yet no trophies. Loew led Germany to the Euro 2008 final, and his side finished third at the World Cup two years later.

In building upon the foundation he formed while working under Klinsmann, Loew has instilled a fast-paced, attractive attacking philosophy that emphasises both physical and technical aspects of the game, and has been a resounding success. Loew boasts the best win percentage of any German national team coach.

CAPTAIN - Philipp Lahm
There were massive shoes for Lahm to fill as he took over for Michael Ballack in 2010, and the fact that he did so amid some controversy made it even more difficult. His predecessor had no intention of simply surrendering the armband, and Lahm was stuck in a very tricky situation.

To his credit, the Bayern Munich man took everything in stride and has since adapted well: the most obvious example of course is in the 2010 World Cup, in which he stood in superbly, settling the team and inspiring some outstanding performances. He is not a very vocal man, but Lahm knows how to lead by example and has done so countless times while wearing the national team shirt.