"Germany European football champion and Germany world champions in darts" - Martin Schindler dreaming of double joy

In the shadow of the Euro 2024, the World Cup of Darts is also taking place in Germany this weekend. Forty countries will compete for overall victory in the PDC's annual nations tournament in Frankfurt from Thursday, June 27 to Sunday, June 30.

As in previous years, Germany is among the dark horses for success. The host country will once again enter with Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens, yet there is an adjustment in the German team. Clemens is no longer the German number one, that status now belongs to Schindler. 'The Wall' is having an excellent season and earlier this year won the International Darts Open, one of the Euro Tour tournaments.

Schindler is hugely looking forward to the start of the tournament. “The World Cup is my home tournament, and I’m really excited to be back,” he told the PDC's official website, full of determination. “The atmosphere in the Eissporthalle is always amazing, and I am looking forward to playing alongside Gabriel again."

The current world number 23 has high hopes for the German pair. "Me and Gabriel get along very well, so we’re just going to play our own game and hopefully it’s enough to win the tournament," Schindler explains. "Our spirit is there. We have the potential to fight back from any position, so I think we basically have everything. We just need to put it together when it matters.”

Speaking to German news agency DPA, Schindler also talked about the possibility of a unique double beckoning for Germany in this sports summer. "I think the combination of football and darts would be a great story: Germany European football champion and Germany world champions in darts. You can dream,'' Schindler concluded.

Germany starts the World Cup of Darts in the group stage. To reach the knockout stage, they will have to deal with New Zealand (Haupai Puha and Ben Robb) and Finland (Teemu Harju and Marko Kantele).