The Nationalelf goes to church

For years, Germany's football controversies revolved around immigration and identity. Felix Nmecha's celebration after the victory over Curaçao suggests the debate is entering a new phase.

Dear Reader,

It has become something of a German tradition. Every major international football tournament seems to produce a fresh argument about what Germany’s national team represents.

Ahead of the 2018 World Cup, we had the notorious meeting between two of Germany’s star players, both of whom had Turkish roots, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “To my president, with respect,” midfielder Ilkay Gündogan wrote on a signed Manchester City shirt. Photos of the players smiling alongside Erdoğan were published by the Turkish strongman’s political party ahead of his re-election campaign.

The incident came at a time when Erdoğan was imprisoning critics — including a German journalist — and had recently attempted to prosecute a German comedian who had written an unflattering poem about him. The meeting caused indignation across the political spectrum. The AfD demanded that these “passport Germans” should go and play for Turkey, since that was where their loyalty lay.

The entire build-up to the tourname…