Die Mannschaft were eliminated from the group stage at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. A strong message is expected from their opening fixture.
Hansi Flick will be in charge of Germany at the World Cup, as manager, for the first time. This will not be an easy task as Germany are in Group E, alongside Spain, Japan, and Costa Rica.
On Wednesday Germany will face Japan at the Khalifa International Stadium, Doha. In 2018, Germany failed to progress from a group with South Korea, Sweden, and Mexico.
Germany were the first team to qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and this year, they seem to be in a more difficult group but have a well-balanced squad.
Forward Leroy Sané is out of the opening fixture due to knee issues. This means that Serge Gnabry, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Jonas Hofmann, and Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt are the options to replace Sané.
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Germany have had just two wins from their last eight games and this will definitely be worth noting despite them being unbeaten in their last 2 fixtures against Japan. According to Sportskeeda, a total of seven goals were scored in the first half when the two sides met.
Japan, on the other hand, has a pattern of losing in the opening fixtures before advancing to the Round of 16. However, qualifying with 15 wins out of 18 and a record 58 goals is undoubtedly encouraging for Japan.
Arsenal right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu is expected to start alongside 22-cap skipper Maya Yoshida in defense.
Germany and Japan have never met in a competitive fixture before and this should be an interesting encounter.
Confirmed Lineups
Germany XI (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Süle, Schlotterbeck, Rüdiger, Raum; Kimmich, Gündoğan; Gnabry, Müller, Musiala; Havertz
Japan XI (4-2-3-1): Gonda; Sakai, Ikatura, Yoshida, Nagatomo; Tanaka, Endo; Ito, Kamada, Kubo; Maeda
Prediction
Germany (2)-(0) Japan
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