Nickname: Die Danas

Previous FIH Hockey Pro League placements: 2019: 3rd. 2020-21: 4th. 2021-22: 6th. 2022-23: 5th

Notable honours: Olympic gold medallists (2004), 2x Olympic silver medallists (1984, 1992), Olympic bronze medallists (2016), 2x World champions (1976, 1981), 2x European champions (2007, 2013), FIH Hockey Pro League bronze medallists (2019), 7x European silver medallists (1991, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2021), Champions Trophy gold medallists (2006), 5x European bronze medallists (1984, 1995, 2003, 2015, 2023).

Having won every major title on offer and always genuine contenders for a place on the podium, Germany have an international record to be proud of. The team coached by Valentin Altenburg – who guided Germany men to Olympic bronze at Rio 2016 – proved their class once again in August 2023, taking bronze medal at the EuroHockey Championships, which were played on home turf in Mönchengladbach. Remarkably, Die Danas conceded only once during that competition, with that solitary goal condemning them to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Belgium in the semi-final. However, the host nation finished on a high, with goals from penalty corner star Sonja Zimmermann, Charlotte Stapenhorst and Jette Fleschütz sealing a superb 3-0 win over England to bag the bronze medal. Germany’s provisional squad named for this season’s FIH Hockey Pro League contains seven players who have surpassed the 100 caps marker, the most experienced being double Olympian Anne Schröder, who has represented her country on 195 occasions. Team captain and star defender Nike Lorenz, Stapenhorst, Selin Oruz, Cecile Pieper, Amelie Wortmann and Victoria Huse are also cap centurions, with Hanna Granitzki just one game away from reaching that milestone at the time of writing.

This season, Germany will take to the field for FIH Hockey Pro League ‘mini-tournaments’ in Buenos Aires (ARG), London (ENG), Utrecht (NED) and Amsterdam (NED).

One to watch: Charlotte Stapenhorst. A livewire attacker who rarely fails to impress, Charlotte Stapenhorst is a constant scourge to opposition defences thanks to her magical 3D skills and ability to produce moments of jaw-dropping brilliance. At the time of writing, the 28-year-old had scored 76 goals in 153 appearances for her country, including netting Germany’s second in their 3-0 European championships bronze medal match victory over England in August 2023.