World Cup preview: Germany
The four-time world champions are hoping for a much better showing after exiting in the group stage in 2018
Previous World Cup appearances: 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
Best finish: Champions (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)
Group stage schedule: vs. Japan (Nov. 23), vs. Spain (Nov. 27), vs. Costa Rica (Dec. 1)
Notes: All stats accurate as of Oct. 12, 2022.
The breakdown
How they qualified: Germany cruised through a UEFA qualifying group that featured Armenia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia and Romania. They won nine of their 10 games and outscored their opponents 36-4.
Names to know:
Kai Havertz (Chelsea) — The hero of the 2021 Champions League final, Havertz was the only German player to score multiple times at Euro 2020 (played in 2021) and posted three goals and two assists in his eight qualifying appearances. Havertz averages 0.35 more goal involvements per 90 minutes playing for his country than he’s produced in his club career for Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea. The 23-year-old recently scored his 50th goal between the Bundesliga (36) and Premier League (14).
Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) — Kimmich is an automatic starter for both club and country as one of the world’s best holding midfielders. He has played every minute of the past two major tournaments and logged the most minutes on the team during qualifying as well. The seven-time Bundesliga champion has registered at least nine assists across all competitions each of the past five seasons.
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) — One of the few holdovers from the 2014 World Cup-winning squad, Neuer is the most impactful goalkeeper of the past decade. His aggressive approach changed the way the position is played, and he’s been Germany’s starting goalie for every major tournament since the 2010 World Cup. He could move into fifth place on Die Mannschaft’s all-time appearances list if they reach the semifinals1.
Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid) — Euro 2020 was Rüdiger’s first major tournament as a starter, but he made one appearance at the last World Cup and has 54 caps to his name2. The longtime Chelsea center back has played in the Champions League with three different teams, winning the competition in 2020-21. He joined Spanish giants Real Madrid as a free agent over the summer.
Leroy Sané (Bayern Munich) — Sané came off the bench in the Euro 2016 semifinals as a 20-year-old and was left off the 2018 World Cup roster despite having 25 Premier League goal involvements for Manchester City in 2017-18. He was the only player with more than three goals and multiple assists in qualifying. Qatar should be the first major tournament where the exceptionally gifted winger gets to play a starring role.
Potential breakout star: David Raum (RB Leipzig)
Raum got his first cap on Sept. 5, 2021, and has been a mainstay ever since. He started two World Cup qualifiers and is third on the team in minutes played during the Nations League. The left back produced three goals and 11 assists with Hoffenheim last season, his first in the Bundesliga. Leipzig spent €26 million to acquire the 24-year-old during the summer transfer window3.
The bottom line
Reason for optimism: New faces
Seven of the players who started at least one of Germany’s two friendlies during the final international window before the World Cup played little or no role in the poor showings at the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020. Hansi Flick’s squad for Qatar is going to look different, and that is a good thing.
Biggest question: Who carries the attack?
Kai Havertz and Timo Werner both have reputations for being wasteful in front of goal. One of them is probably starting in the No. 9 position. Germany’s top two wingers — Serge Gnabry and the aforementioned Sané — have not scored in a major tournament. There is plenty of attacking talent in theory, but it has to actually translate this time.
Here’s the deal:
They are one of the biggest wild cards in the entire tournament. There’s no guarantee they get out of their group, and they could win the whole thing if they do.