When Nationalists Don't Like the National Team

IN MY ADOPTED GERMAN HOME AND ACROSS EUROPE, XENOPHOBIA AND FOOTBALL EXCELLENCE ARE RUNNING UP AGAINST EACH OTHER.

BERLIN — Germany won the World Cup in 2014 and it has an excellent chance of winning it again this year in Russia. Here in Berlin, where I live, the excitement is rising. My friends’ calendars are filling up with watch parties. Bar owners are moving big TV screens toward the street. My local beer garden is stockpiling booze and sausages, preparing for the hordes of fans hopeful that the German team will advance to victory.