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FIFA World Cup 2022 Preview: Germany’s Hunt for Glory Again

The FIFA soccer World Cup is one of the most culturally important and watched sporting events around the world. The World Cup final is often the most-watched sporting event of the year, with billions tuning in to watch. This year’s competition is unique, taking place in the Middle East for the first time in the country of Qatar. This year is the first time the World Cup has taken place in winter as well, making this year a truly historic iteration of the competition.

Germany is one of the powerhouses of world soccer and has been so for many decades. They are currently ranked 11th in the official FIFA rankings. This year is a hope for them to return to the form they were in for much of the 2010s, but Germany fans around the world are concerned at their performances at the two most recent big tournaments. Can they recapture their brilliance of the past and return to the top of the sport this time? Read this preview to find out.

Germany National Soccer Team

Germany has been a dominant force in soccer over the years and boasts some of the most recognizable and talented players of all time in its history. They have generally been there or thereabouts at the latter stages of big international tournaments, and any periods of bad form are usually quite short.

The German Bundesliga is also one of the most watched and respected leagues in world soccer, and their two giants of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are two of the most notable clubs in European soccer.
History

The history of Germany’s national soccer team is a long and rich one, with multiple tournament wins under their belts, some as West Germany and some as Germany after the fall of the Soviet Union and unification of Germany. Some of the best players of all time came from Germany, and multiple countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and England have bitter soccer rivalries with the German team.

Greatest achievements

The biggest achievements of the Germany national soccer team have to be the four World Cups that they have won, in 1954, 1974, 1990, and most recently in 2014. They have reacehed the final multiple times as well, and have also won three European Championships, making them one of the most successful nations in international soccer.

Their win in 2014 was extra special for the Germans, winning 1-0 after extra time against an Argentina side boasting the likes of Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano in their ranks, having also downed hosts Brazil in the semi-finals. Their win was after losing to Spain in the semi-finals in the 2010 World Cup after looking like the most dangerous team in the competition up to that point.

Notable players

The best German player of all time is widely considered to be legendary goalscorer Gerd Müller, just over the game-changing defender Franz Beckenbauer. Both players were a huge part of Germany’s success in past decades, and Müller’s goalscoring records have only started tumbling in the last 20 years with the twin brilliance of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi reaching new standards previously unseen.

In more recent times, World Cup-winning captain Philipp Lahm was one of the finest defenders of his generation and performed incredibly for Germany for many years. Miroslav Klose is still the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cups, with 16 goals, and proved to be key in their victory in 2014.

Jersey

The Germany national soccer team’s jersey for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar is a shocking break from tradition, with their jersey being a striking black and white striped jersey rather than their traditional all-white. Four golden stars, representing how many times they have won the World Cup, are shown in the middle and stand out in a grand way.

Trivia

Did you know that Germany’s win over Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup was the biggest margin a team had ever won by in the World Cup semi-finals? Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in Brazil itself, making the match instantly unforgettable as the camera panned to crying, shocked Brazil fans regularly throughout the match as Germany marched to their first World Cup final since losing to Brazil in the final in 2002.

Squad

This year’s Germany national soccer squad is a mixture of old legends that played so well in their success in the 2010s and young talent that has been brought in to refresh a squad that started to feel stale.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, evergreen forward Thomas Müller, and Manchester City genius İlkay Gündoğan are part of the veteran side of the squad, but Chelsea star Kai Havertz and Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sané and Joshua Kimmich are looking to make their own mark on a World Cup after the disappointment of crashing out in the group stages in 2018.

Germany’s defense looks more suspect than in previous tournaments, but their attack looks as sharp as ever, so at the very least, their matches should provide plenty of entertainment and chances created.

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Preview

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar is a chance for Germany to reclaim their pride and status as a soccer powerhouse after the disappointment in the 2020 European Championships and the 2018 World Cup. They will not start as one of the favorites, but every country knows that Germany rarely has two bad World Cups in a row, and they will be wary of a team filled with talent.

Qualifiers

Germany qualified for the 2022 soccer World Cup with no issues at all, winning nine of their ten games in Group J and finishing a whopping nine points above second-placed North Macedonia. They scored an unbelievable 36 goals in those ten matches and conceded just four, giving them the best goal difference in the qualifying stages.

The group wasn’t the toughest, with Romania and Armenia the only other teams collecting over ten points, but Germany did their job ruthlessly and efficiently.

Match 1: vs. Japan

Germany kick off their 2022 World Cup campaign with a tricky game on the 24th of November against Japan in Group E. Japan are ranked 24th in the FIFA soccer rankings, and their squad includes the talents of Monaco star Takumi Minamino and Brighton midfielder Kaoru Mitoma. Their defense has been more organized in the past year or two, but Germany’s superior talent and creativity makes them rightly considered favorites for this contest.

Japan should not be taken lightly though, with their previous World Cup appearances proving that they have it in them to upset a favored team.

Match 2: vs. Spain

Germany’s second match is the big one, the match that will almost certainly decide who wins Group E and gets a theoretically easier match in the next round. 7th-ranked Spain have found their form again after a few years in the international wilderness, and the talents of Alvaro Morata, Pedri, Gavi, and Sergio Busquets are a fearsome matchup for any team, let alone a team that have had the defensive issues that Germany have had.

This should be a close game, but Spain will be favored to get the win over Germany, and the Germans will have to be on top of their game to deny Spain glory in this match.

Match 3: vs. Costa Rica

Germany’s soccer team’s final match in Group E is against a 31st-ranked Costa Rica side who have been improving slowly but surely in the last few years. Costa Rica have some talented players in their squad, including superstar goalkeeper Kaylor Navas and Joel Campbell, but their strength lies mostly in their defensive organization and work rate.

While Costa Rica shouldn’t be underestimated, Germany should be winning this key game and will probably finish second in the group behind Spain on current form.

Possible knockout stage

If Germany do end up in second place in Group E, they will probably end up playing a Belgium side ranked second in the FIFA rankings and dominating teams with ease in recent months. This would probably be the end of Germany’s run. But if they do end up in first place in Group E, their round of 16 match would probably be against a Croatia side that has worsened somewhat since their high of reaching the final in 2018. Germany would be favored to win that matchup and thus progress to the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-finals, they would then probably face a top-ranked Brazil side, one of the favorites to win the tournament. If they manage to find a win against a Brazil team seeking revenge for the 7-1 defeat in the 2014 semi-finals, they could find themselves against an Argentina side also seeking revenge for the 2014 final or a Netherlands side who are looking to get back to the latter stages of a World Cup after years of mediocrity. Any number of top teams could meet them in the final, and Germany even getting to the semi-finals would be a terrific achievement, considering how strong the other teams are. But with Germany you just never know, do you?