Germany arrive at Euro 2012 with a perfect qualifying record but Joachim Loew's young guns still need to prove themselves in a tough Group B alongside the Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark.
Having won the Euro title three times, Germany are the most successful team in the history of the European Championships and last lifted the trophy in 1996 after victories in 1972 and 1980.
Loew's side earned 10 wins from 10 in their qualification campaign, scoring 34 goals in the process. They now aim to go one better than the Euro 2008 final when they lost 1-0 to Spain thanks to a single goal from Fernando Torres.
Since taking charge in 2006, Loew has led his country to the European runners-up spot in Vienna four years ago and third place at the 2010 World Cup.
Expectation is high in Germany, especially after their 100 percent qualifying record and last season's friendly wins over Brazil and Holland.
"We have many young players, who have never played a big tournament," said Loew. "It's a similar situation to the 2010 World Cup.
"An advantage is that our foundation is better than in 2008 or even 2010, with our philosophy now solidified over the past two years. We have a very balanced squad with a good age structure."
In the past, Germany have earned a reputation for frugal efficiency but using the skills of midfielder stars Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Mueller, Loew has fashioned a formidable attacking unit able to compete with the world's best.
"The challenge for us is to improve at this high level," he added.
Loew is a fan of promoting young talent and named 18-year-old Schalke 04 midfielder Julian Draxler in his provisional squad, alongside 20-year-old Borussia Moenchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Weaknesses were exposed when Loew's under-strength team lost 2-1 at home to France in February's friendly, with problems in defence and getting players into dangerous positions.
Nevertheless, Schalke defender Benedikt Hoewedes said it was better to have problems exposed before the championships.
"Our aim is still to try to go all the way at Euro 2012," he added.
One chink in the German armour is at centre-back. Arsenal's Per Mertesacker will have to prove his fitness after being sidelined by torn ankle ligaments since February.
Defensive partners Christoph Metzelder and Arne Friedrich have dropped out of contention.
Bayern Munich youngsters Jerome Boateng and Holger Badstuber, plus Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels, have all been impressive in the Bundesliga but the trio are all inexperienced on the international stage.
Loew has an abundance of rising stars in attack, with 19-year-old Mario Goetze, who orchestrated the 3-2 win over Brazil last August, a name to watch.
Up front, Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez has scored 31 goals so far this season and Lazio's Miroslav Klose is just five short of Gerd Mueller's all-time record of 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany at the start of the 1970s.
Klose, 33, has just returned to fitness after a thigh injury and was Germany's top scorer in qualifying with nine goals.
Germany will be based in Gdansk, Poland, for Euro 2012 but with all three group stage games in Ukraine, they will fly into Lviv for the matches against Denmark and Portugal and Kharkiv for the match against Holland.
Source: AFP
