In 2018, Germany followed the infamous trend of embarrassing World Cup title defenses, becoming the fourth title holder in the last five World Cups to not make it out of the group stage. Despite the opening game loss to Mexico, the Germans bounced back for three points against Sweden to go into the final matchday with plenty of hope against South Korea. What ensued was a dramatic 2–0 loss—thanks to two stoppage-time goals from South Korea—that saw the European giants go crashing out of the group stage in what was a national disgrace.
Germany was better at its next major tournament in last year’s Euros, where it survived a tough group by beating reigning champion Portugal. However, the Germans were outclassed by England in the round of 16, which marked the end of longtime manager Joachim Löw’s nearly 15-year run in charge. In came a former Löw assistant in Hansi Flick, who won two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League trophy with Bayern Munich.
Things look to be on the upswing. Germany has lost only once in 15 matches under Flick (against Hungary in September in the UEFA Nations League). The trip to Qatar will be Flick’s toughest test yet, but it is the challenge that he was specifically brought in to face.
Group E Schedule (all times Eastern)
- Japan, Nov. 23, 8 a.m.
- Spain, Nov. 27, 2 p.m.
- Costa Rica, Dec. 1, 2 p.m.
Coach
Hansi Flick, hired in August 2021
Andy Rowland/PRiME Media Images
Players to Watch
Kai Havertz, forward
A versatile weapon that can present plenty of problems for opposing defenses, Havertz has scored 16 goals for club and country in 2022. The 23-year-old got his first look at a major tournament at Euro 2020, where he scored twice for Germany. Havertz can play as a No. 9, drop in behind a striker or roam, which will be extremely useful to Flick given the vastly team’s different group stage matchups—and given Timo Werner’s injury that has ruled him out of participating.
İlkay Gündoğan, midfielder
The Man City veteran is a fulcrum in midfield, and will come into the World Cup as one of the most experienced players on Germany’s roster with 62 caps. His distribution and reliability will be key to relieving pressure and allow Germany’s attackers to push forward. Gündoğan also has a knack for scoring, with 33 goals for club and country since 2021.
Thomas Müller, forward/midfielder
The 33-year-old playmaker is coming into his fourth World Cup and leads all active players with 10 career World Cup goals. His first career international goal came at the 2010 World Cup, where he scored five and tied for the Golden Boot, and he added five more in 2014, but he failed to score at the 2018 World Cup. Maybe playing for Flick, the former Bayern manager under whom Müller excelled, will be just the boost he needs to keep chipping away at Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goal count (16).
Ulrich Hufnagel/Imago Images
Breakout Candidate
Jamal Musiala, forward
The 19-year-old is one of the most promising young stars in the sport and this year finished third in the voting for the Kopa Trophy, which honors the best U-21 player in the world. He has already made 17 international appearances for Germany. Musiala could have played for England after spending a significant portion of his childhood at the Chelsea academy, before moving to Bayern Munich at 16.
World Cup History
- 20th appearance
- Last appearance: 2018, group stage
- Best finish: Champion in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014
Outlook and Expectations
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be all about redemption for the Germans. Four years after its embarrassment in Russia, Germany will find itself on more stable ground despite a tough game against Spain that awaits in the group stage—a game that could very likely determine the group winner (the two sides’ last meeting ending in an embarrassing 6-0 loss for Germany in Nov. 2020).
However, Japan and Costa Rica shouldn’t provide the same shock that Mexico and South Korea did in 2018. That is, unless Germany didn’t learn from the mistakes that saw it go from world champion to global humiliation. At his disposal, Flick has the right mix of newcomers and veterans—Mario Götze, the 2014 World Cup final hero, is even back in the national setup for the first time since 2017—to go deep into the tournament. The 2019-20 European coach of the year was also an assistant manager on the 2014 World Cup-winning side, and he’ll know what it takes to create a winner on the biggest stage.
World Cup Squad
GOALKEEPERS: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)
DEFENEDERS: Armel Bella-Kotchap (Southampton), Matthias Ginter (SC Freiburg), Christian Günter (SC Freiburg), Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United), Lukas Klosterman (RB Leipzig), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Niklas Süle (Borussia Dortmund)
MIDFIELDERS: Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Mario Götze (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ilkay Gundoğan (Manchester City), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
