‘The euphoria has been a little delayed,’ but supporters hope to make use of home advantage before Denmark showdown

It was against her better judgment that Bea Riemer agreed to join her friends in the fan zone near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin this week. “I have been gradually getting into the tournament,” the 25-year-old business student said, but until then she had been concentrating solely on Germany’s games at the Euros, “watching at home, in the gym and in a restaurant, my attention easily diverted; cautiously optimistic, a bit nervous of joining a bigger crowd.”

Witnessing Georgia’s magnificent 2-0 win over Portugal on the big screen, though, surrounded by fans of both those teams and others, has changed her whole attitude, she said. “This is one massive, fabulous party, and I don’t need to be in the stadium but I do need to be among other people, participating in the rollicking fun.”