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Germany vs Japan: Prediction, team news, Injury Update and Possible Lineup.
Germany’s World Cup 2022 Group E campaign gets underway against Japan on Wednesday at the Khalifa International Stadium in an effort to erase the depressing memories of Russia 2018 and reclaim their status as a “Tournamentmannschaft” (tournament team).
For Germany in the 2018 World Cup, the curse of the defending champions was very much alive as the team, formerly coached by Joachim Low, saw the defence of their 2014 title end at the first hurdle before losing to England in the recent European Championships’ last-16.
Germany’s most recent World Cup game, a humiliating 2-0 loss to South Korea that sealed the nation’s first-ever group-stage departure, was steered by Joachim Low while he was still in charge.
Senegal lost out to Japan because they received more yellow cards, but Japan narrowly edged them out of their pool by the smallest of margins. After the 2018 tournament, Hajime Moriyasu took over for his former employer Akira Nishina, just as Germany’s coach Hansi Flick assisted Low.
The four-time World Cup champions have never faced Japan in a competitive match, but it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to learn that they have won both of their prior encounters, with Germany triumphing 3-0 in a friendly in 2004 and drawing 2-2 in another exhibition game two years later.
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Team News:
Unsurprisingly, the pre-World Cup discussion about the Germany team centred on Marco Reus, who had yet another harsh injury blow that prevented him from competing in the World Cup after previously missing Euro 2016, Euro 2020, and the historic 2014 competition.
However, with striker Niclas Fullkrug recovering from his illness and the combination of Thomas Muller and Antonio Rudiger returning to full training over the weekend, Germany is anticipated to have a fully healthy team for the first matchday.
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Muller is now seeking to build on a record of 10 goals and six assists in 16 World Cup matches for Germany after his exile, and the veteran of Bayern Munich will hope to earn the nod to lead the charge after returning to the national team.
About Japan, Wataru Endo and Karou Mitoma have recovered from head injuries and illnesses, respectively, to be available, but there are still concerns about Sporting Lisbon midfielder Hidemasa Morita, who has a calf problem.
Gunners right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu was rested against Canada due to a recent muscular issue, but he should be fine to play, possibly in the centre of defence alongside Maya Yoshida, who has 122 caps.
The Samurai Blue’s attacking options for the World Cup are plentiful, and Takuma Asano’s stronger international experience compared to his fellow forwards should work to his advantage.
Germany’s possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Kehrer, Sule, Rudiger, Raum; Kimmich, Gundogan; Gnabry, Musiala, Havertz; Muller
Japan’s possible starting lineup:
Gonda; Sakai, Tomiyasu, Yoshida, Nagatomo; Shibasaki, Endo, Kamada; Ito, Asano, Minamino
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Germany vs Japan Score Prediction:
A significant portion of Japan’s team will be recognizable to German fans. Only seven of Moriyasu’s team compete in Japan, while eight compete in Germany’s top two divisions.
Both of these squads enjoy playing with the ball and are familiar with the Bundesliga. Both countries are accustomed to dominating games inside their respective confederations, but without a talented centre striker at their disposal, they frequently struggle to convert possession into penetration.
Prediction: Germany 3-1 Japan