By Emmanuel Okogba

Germany suffered what nearly all winners have suffered when they crashed out of the World Cup at only the group stage in 2018. The 2014 winners didn’t know what hit them as losses to Mexico and South Korea put them on an early flight home.

It does not get any easier this time as they have been drawn alongside European powerhouse Spain and also have tricky ties against Costa Rica and Japan.

With four titles, and being the second most successful side in the competition, Germany ordinarily should be one of the favorites in this edition, but recent outings have proven otherwise. Getting kicked out in the second round of the Euros and finishing third in their Nations League group, Hansi Flick and their men have a hill to climb to show that they have woken up from the Russian nightmare.

Parading stars like Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer, and Thomas Muller did not stop Germany from going out of a World Cup at the first stage for the first time since 1938. This has been attributed to off-field controversies that were distractions to the team’s cause. From Ilkay Gundogan and Mesut Ozil having photographs taken with controversial Turkish president Recepp Tayyip Erdogan to selection problems, the Germans were clearly their own stumbling block.

Germany is expected to announce a final squad on November 10.

Players to watch

Name: Manuel Neuer

Position: Goalkeeper

Current Club: Bayern Munich

Age: 36

Now at the twilight of his career, Manuel Neuer will be playing at his fourth World Cup finals and is expected to start Germany’s matches given that he captains the side. Considered one of the best in the sport, Neuer’s sterling career included playing a vital role in Germany’s march to the summit of world football in Brazil in 2014.

Name: Kai Havertz

Position: Forward

Current Club: Chelsea

Age: 23

The youngster will be playing at his first World Cup. He continued his rise from where he left off when he joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen and has successfully played his way into becoming a key member of this current national team set-up.

Name: Toni Kroos

Position: Midfield

Current Club: Real Madrid

Age: 32

Kroos will expectedly make the team to Qatar given his influence in Real Madrid’s midfield. He will hope to continue from where he left off in 2018 where he scored a spectacular free kick in the 95th minute to hand Germany a 2-1 victory over Sweden – their only win of the tournament.

Coach

Name: Hansi Flick

Age: 57

Flick took over from Joachim Löw in 2021 and is having only his second taste of a major international tournament.

Fixtures

Nov 23: Germany vs Japan

Nov 27: Spain vs Germany

Dec 1: Costa Rica vs Germany