GERMANY’S CHANCES WERE dealt a serious blow last week when Marco Reus limped out of their final friendly with torn ankle ligaments and waved goodbye to the World Cup.
But even without Reus and injured Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender, this squad is still comfortably Germany’s best since the powerhouse sides of the 1970s.
Sami Khedira, Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos and Mario Götze have all come of age over the last four years while captain Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and (ageing) goal machine Miroslav Klose bring buckets of experience to the table.
Will they miss Reus? Sure — but there aren’t many squads with more strength in depth out there.
2. Philipp Lahm
Germany’s captain has been one of the outstanding players in European football in recent years. Playing as a holding midfielder, this image shows just how central (literally!) he is to Pep Guardiola’s scheme at Bayern Munich:
He is equally as important to the national team but with Schweinsteiger (if fully fit) and Khedira more than capable of fulfilling that central role, it’s likely that he’ll be used in his usual full-back position.
Until the talking stops and the football starts, it is impossible to know what impact the stifling South American climate will have on the European teams and just how valuable “home” advantage might be.
Germany have it tougher than most with three group games lined up in Salvador, Fortaleza and Recife — and as a side that likes to play a fast, flowing game with the ball and press hard without it, it’s natural to wonder how they will cope.
The only small saving grace is that, with an average age of 26.3, Germany’s is one of the youngest squads in the tournament — the sixth-youngest, to be precise, and that’s even with old man Klose, 36, dragging up the average!
4. The three-man front
Despite their serious array of talent, there is a lot of uncertainty about Germany’s attacking options and how they all fit together. Technically speaking Miroslav Klose is the only recognised striker in the squad, although Götze, Podolski, Müller and Schürrle have all played as a lone man in the past.
Coach Jogi Löw has been leaning towards a 4-3-3 which, when Özil pushes on from behind, effectively gives Germany four men in that attacking third, each of whom can be a matchwinner on their day.
That’s a lot of threats to defend against and as teams start to tire, and space starts to open up, Germany have the men to do damage.
5. A team of leaders, not just one
In the last four major tournaments, Germany have been to three semi-finals and a final with no silverware to show. It hardly takes a leap to suggest that they’re flirting dangerously with a perennial underachievers tag.
For that to change they need men to stand up and be counted — and the concern is that they don’t have the vocal (and volatile) presence of a Matthaus or a Ballack among this current group.
But Lahm is a superb captain and he’s surrounded by a team of leaders, particularly Mertesacker, Schweinsteiger and Khedira.
“As a German footballer people are always quick to doubt your determination,” Lahm told Raphael Honigstein in the Guardian. “Me and Bastian Schweinsteiger have had to face up to that debate for ever.”
5 reasons why Germany will win the World Cup
1. Strength of squad
GERMANY’S CHANCES WERE dealt a serious blow last week when Marco Reus limped out of their final friendly with torn ankle ligaments and waved goodbye to the World Cup.
But even without Reus and injured Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender, this squad is still comfortably Germany’s best since the powerhouse sides of the 1970s.
Sami Khedira, Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos and Mario Götze have all come of age over the last four years while captain Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and (ageing) goal machine Miroslav Klose bring buckets of experience to the table.
Will they miss Reus? Sure — but there aren’t many squads with more strength in depth out there.
2. Philipp Lahm
Germany’s captain has been one of the outstanding players in European football in recent years. Playing as a holding midfielder, this image shows just how central (literally!) he is to Pep Guardiola’s scheme at Bayern Munich:
He is equally as important to the national team but with Schweinsteiger (if fully fit) and Khedira more than capable of fulfilling that central role, it’s likely that he’ll be used in his usual full-back position.
And we all know what he can do from there:
3. Young bucks
Until the talking stops and the football starts, it is impossible to know what impact the stifling South American climate will have on the European teams and just how valuable “home” advantage might be.
Germany have it tougher than most with three group games lined up in Salvador, Fortaleza and Recife — and as a side that likes to play a fast, flowing game with the ball and press hard without it, it’s natural to wonder how they will cope.
The only small saving grace is that, with an average age of 26.3, Germany’s is one of the youngest squads in the tournament — the sixth-youngest, to be precise, and that’s even with old man Klose, 36, dragging up the average!
4. The three-man front
Despite their serious array of talent, there is a lot of uncertainty about Germany’s attacking options and how they all fit together. Technically speaking Miroslav Klose is the only recognised striker in the squad, although Götze, Podolski, Müller and Schürrle have all played as a lone man in the past.
Coach Jogi Löw has been leaning towards a 4-3-3 which, when Özil pushes on from behind, effectively gives Germany four men in that attacking third, each of whom can be a matchwinner on their day.
That’s a lot of threats to defend against and as teams start to tire, and space starts to open up, Germany have the men to do damage.
5. A team of leaders, not just one
In the last four major tournaments, Germany have been to three semi-finals and a final with no silverware to show. It hardly takes a leap to suggest that they’re flirting dangerously with a perennial underachievers tag.
For that to change they need men to stand up and be counted — and the concern is that they don’t have the vocal (and volatile) presence of a Matthaus or a Ballack among this current group.
But Lahm is a superb captain and he’s surrounded by a team of leaders, particularly Mertesacker, Schweinsteiger and Khedira.
“As a German footballer people are always quick to doubt your determination,” Lahm told Raphael Honigstein in the Guardian. “Me and Bastian Schweinsteiger have had to face up to that debate for ever.”
Now is the time to silence the critics.
TheScore.ie’s foolproof guide to skiving off work to watch the World Cup
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Jogi Low Philipp Lahm Germany World Cup 2014