Germany World Cup 2018
Germany, the current FIFA ranked number one nation and reigning world champions, head to Russia with the belief they will become World Cup winners for a fifth time. And, it would be foolish to write them off.
History at the World Cup
Germany first played at a World Cup finals in the 1934 tournament, and have appeared at every finals since 1954. The 1954 tournament was also the first time Germany would be crowned world champions, the first of four World Cup titles. In their run of sixteen consecutive tournaments, Germany have also been runners-up four times, reached the Semi Final four times, and made it to three Quarter Finals.
They have a fantastic World Cup pedigree and have made it past the first group stage in every finals in which they’ve appeared. In 2014, they looked every bit world champions in the making with a 4-0 opening win over Portugal. They did, however, meet plenty of resistance and were perhaps dealt a great bit of luck on the way to the trophy.
They were held to a 2-2 draw by Ghana in the group stage, needed extra time to finish off a spirited Algeria team in the last 16, and scraped past France in the Quarter Final with a huge thanks to their goalkeeper.
However, they soon showed just how good they could be with perhaps the greatest result in World Cup history, beating hosts Brazil 7-1 in a performance up there with the very best. The final was a bit of a damp squid in comparison and again the Germans required extra time before beating Argentina 1-0 to lift their fourth trophy.
- World Cup Finals Appearances – 18
- Previous Best Performance – Winners (4 times)
How they qualified
Drawn in Group C of UEFA qualifying, with Northern Ireland, Czech Republic, Norway, Azerbaijan, and San Marino, Germany were hotly tipped to breeze through and that is just what they did.
Starting with a 3-0 victory away to Norway showed their intention, and they went on to win all ten qualifying matches. They won all but one match by at least a two-goal margin and had a fantastic goal difference, with forty-three scored and just four conceded in their ten matches.
Thomas Muller and Sandro Wagner topped the Group C scoring charts, with five goals apiece, and were two of twenty-one different players to net during the qualifying campaign.
Coach/Manager
Joachim Low didn’t quite hit the heights as a player, but he has helped turn Germany back into a force in world football as a manager.
Becoming national team assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann in 2004, Low helped change the philosophy and style of football played by Germany and he continued this when he stepped up as head coach in 2006.
In the years before Klinsmann and Low, Germany had become a shadow of their former self and had slipped down the FIFA rankings. Since, the national team has again risen to the top, and they have never been below sixth in the world under Low’s management.
At the time of writing this, Low has a 67.09 winning percentage from 158 matches as Germany boss. During that time, they have won the 2014 World Cup, 2017 Confederations Cup, and finished runners-up at Euro 2008.
Star Players
Germany have a squad full of pure quality throughout, with strength in every position.
Goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer has made over 70 appearances for the national team, and has been named the world’s best keeper four times.
His back up, and challenger for the number one jersey, isn’t bad either. Marc-Andre ter Stegen plays for Spanish giants Barcelona, and was man of the match in Germany’s victory over Chile in the 2017 Confederations Cup final.
English football fans will be extremely familiar with star players such as Mesut Ozil of Arsenal, Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City, and Emre Can of Liverpool.
Every member of the squad with a recent call-up plays in the top division in either Germany, England, France, Spain, Italy, or the Netherlands.
Germany World Cup 2018: Assessing Their Chances & Odds
Germany are the betting favourites to win this World Cup, priced at 9/2 with Ladbrokes, and it’s hard to argue with that. They are a team full of quality, have been handed a favourable draw, and are on a long unbeaten run heading into the tournament. Mexico and Sweden will provide stiff opposition, although the Germans should overcome these challenges, and South Korea should be a relatively easy victory.
If, as expected and priced at 2/5 to do so, Germany win their group, they will move forward to a clash with the runner-up of Group F. Brazil should win that group, so Germany will face either Costa Rica, Serbia, or Switzerland. All three of which we would have Germany favourites for.
A win in that round would move them to a Quarter Final, with Belgium or England their likely opponents. The Germans should win that as well, on paper, but things don’t always go to plan. A place in the Quarter Final should be a sure-thing, and they have enough quality in their squad to then overcome three tougher challenges to lift another trophy.
Our Germany World Cup Prediction
Staying on the safe side of things, as the World Cup can throw up several surprises, we will comfortably predict that Germany will reach at least the Quarter Final in Russia. But, a possible clash with Belgium or England is winnable, and so is a possible Semi Final with Argentina or Spain. So, it could pay to back the Germans to reach the Final yet again.