Between their first match in 1908 and 1929, Germany played in 74 matches, resulting in 26 victories, 14 draws and 34 defeats.[2] Germany made steady progress from early heavy defeats to England's amateur squad, managing to win two games in a row only in 1924.
Throughout this period they participated in two Olympic Football Tournaments in 1912 and in 1928, and on both occasions, Germany failed to go any further than the quarter-finals. On the latter occasion, they were eliminated by the eventual champions Uruguay in what was their first-ever game against a non-European team.[3] Notable figures during these years was Gottfried Fuchs who become Germany's all-time top scorer with 13 goals after scoring 10 goals in a 16–0 win against Russia at the 1912 Olympic consolation tournament, becoming the top scorer of the tournament.[4]
Stadium: Landhof Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Patrick Devitte (Switzerland)
Note: First official match (also first away match); first goal for Germany (by Fritz Becker); first own-goal for Germany (by Ernst Jordan) first defeat (also first away defeat).
Stadium: Råsunda IP Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Christiaan Groothoff (Netherlands)
Note: First match against Russia; biggest win (also biggest win at neutral venue) and first double-digit win; and Gottfried Fuchs set the goal scoring record for Germany (12 goals).
Note: First match against Uruguay; first match against a non-European team. Also, Hans Kalb and Richárd Hoffmann become the first players to be sent off.
