FIFA World Cup 2018: Statistical Analysis of Germany

The winner of the FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil, the defending champions Germany, has been one of the most successful nations when it comes to football. Having won the World Cup in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014, the European Championships of 1972, 1980 and 1996 and the Confederations Cup in 2017, placed Germany among one of the four nations to win all three important titles of the recognized by FIFA; the World Cup, the Confederations Cup and the Olympics. Germany is the only country to have won both the men’s and women’s World Cups in football.

Also known as Die Mannschaft, meaning The Team, the Germans humiliating crushing of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup showed the entire world that they are not a force to trifle with when it comes to football. With their organized, aggressive and fast gameplay they are very effective on ground against any team. They maintain a good possession with their defensive line forcing forward together, they often have more players during an attack which turns every defending mistake into their advantage.

World Cup History:

Germans always have a trick or two up in their sleeves when it comes to the World Cup. They have won the world cup four times and have been runners up four times as well in the world cup. They have also missed out the European Championships three times by an inch. However, the first world cup the Germans lifted in 1954 was after a nail biting game against the favourites Hungary in the final, who previously defeated them by a score of 8 goals to 3 in the group stage. In the final, Germany beat Hungary by 3-2 score with Helmut Rahn scoring the winning goal also widely known as Das Wunder von Bern (The Miracle of Bern).

After that they finished fourth in the 1958 World Cup and only managed to reach the Quarter finals in the 1962 World Cup then in 1974 FIFA World Cup on their home soil, Germany rose as a Phoenix under the captaincy of the legendary Franz Beckenbauer they beat Netherlands by 2-1 in the final which was held in Munich. The winning goal was scored by Gerd Muller, ensuring the second world cup claim for the Germans.

Then in the 1990 FIFA World Cup which was held in Italy, the Germans managed to get past the Argentines in the finale from a penalty in the 85^th minute by Andreas Brehme. Beckenbauer became the first person to have won the FIFA World Cup as both coach and player.

Last World Cup performance

Germany started the 2014 World Cup as favourites and they proved their mettle to lift the World Cup as they only conceded 4 goals in the entire tournament. They defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the group matches and went on thrashing Brazil in the semis and knocked out Lionel Messi and company in the final with a volley from Mario Gotze who came to the field as a substitute to Miroslav Klose, who holds the record of scoring the most number of goals in World Cups.

The FIFA World Cup 2018 will see once again the Germans as favourites and why wouldn’t it be as they have almost all star players in every position and except for Andre Schurrle and Mario Gotze from active players, they have kept the same team that won them their fourth world cup. With the likes of Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil, Mats Hummels, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, etc, they look like a side that can defeat any other side in any given day.

Germany is clubbed in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and Korea Republic.

Full Squad:

Goalkeepers: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Kevin Trapp (Paris St Germain).

Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Antonio Ruediger (Chelsea), Niklas Suele (Bayern Munich).

Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Juventus), Sebastian Rudy (Bayern Munich), Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Leon Goretzka (Schalke 04), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Julian Draxler (Paris St Germain),.

Forwards: Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig).

What is Germany’s playing formation?

The Germans have normally a 4-4-2 formation which helps them to hold a strong defense line with four defenders and they are supported by four midfielders who also provide for the two forwards who would lead their attack. However, in this World Cup they are most likely to go for a 4-2-3-1 formation which will see an extra midfielder instead of a striker. They have a pass accuracy of 87.7% (Whoscored) and they take 18.8 shots per game which helps them to maintain 1.2 goals per game.

Probable Playing XI:

Manuel Neuer (GK); Jonas Hector, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Joshua Kimmich; Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos; Marco Reus, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller; Timo Werner.

Key Players:

In a star thudded team, each and every player is crucial but a lot will depend on Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Marco Reus and Thomas Muller.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Germany football team?

Strengths:

As most of the German national team players play for Bayern Munich season after season, they have a very good coordination among them. The players are familiar with each other’s playing style and positioning. However the sole strength of the German national team is their defensive segment. They have top world class defenders who don’t make it easy for anyone to get past through them and if any one does, then Manuel Neuer stop it in the last line of defense.

Weaknesses:

The injuries on the team sheet has raised a few eyebrows and also the retirement of star striker Miroslav Klose has forced Thomas Muller to become a striker, who is still trying to figure out if he would want to be a striker or an attacking midfielder. Timo Werner is also in the attack but he is yet to be tested in a big stage.