Germany
Group B
How they got here: Some tournament win in 2014 in Brazil…fourth star on the chest
Coach: Joachim ‘Jogi’ Low
Schedule: Australia (June 19, Sochi) Chile (June 22, Kazan), and Cameroon (June 25, Sochi)
Players to keep an eye on: Defender Niklas Sule (moving to Bayern from Hoffenheim), midfielders Kerem Demirbay (Hoffenheim) and Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), and forward Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
Outlook: It should be stated for the record that this is not the A list squad for Germany. Manager Jogi Low picked very much an experimental squad, and why not.
This summer as the A list players have a rest Germany fielded a U-20 World Cup squad, a UEFA U-21 squad, and this young Germany squad for the Confederations Cup.
In the aftermath of the 2014 World Cup victory many of the leaders of the team have retired from international duty leaving a void. That ‘lesser’ squad made the semifinals of last summer’s Euros losing to the hosts France.
While this squad seems young guess what, they are club experienced. Each player on the squad either played in the Champions League, Europa League or qualified for such via their league finish. All but one player was also a first 11 player for their respective teams, minus Joshua Kimmich who only made 40 appearances in all competitions for Bayern Munich. Only one of the top club teams in the world.
This team is being interpreted as the squad that will be making up the spots on the 2018 roster and beyond. And bye the bye there was even more talent that was left off the roster that didn’t qualify for the youth tournaments previously mentioned.
While not the strongest side that could be fielded it boasts plenty of talent that many countries would immediately put into their starting eleven. Demirbay happened to turn down Turkey in preference for Germany, as has happened with many other Germany internationals; heard of Mesut Ozil?
In attack the focal point will be Timo Werner. He finished in third in the goal scoring charts leading RB Leipzig to a 2nd place finish in the Bundesliga. At age 21 with maturity and confidence of a season where he scored 21 goals only injury should stop him from getting top goal scorer with group opposition like Chile, Cameroon, and Australia.
In the midfield there could be full rotation and Germany could go from strength to strength. Sebastian Rudy, made move to Bayern, played exceptionally with Demirbay for Hoffenheim. Young players Leon Goretzka, captain Julian Draxler, and Julain Brandt all featured as key figures for their respective teams. There were two injury pull outs that weren’t replaced so everyone might get their moment to prove themselves.
Possibly the most exciting is in defense. Niklas Sule made the move to Bayern after a great season leading Hoffenheim to a 4th place finish. This is the next great defender for the world to gasp and awe about. His ability to get tough and switch to a ball playing defender is why he at 21 is the biggest most exciting defender at this tournament. Not to leave out the others but Sule will be on the lips of fans and pundits for years to come as the next best 11 in the world player.
What to expect from this team is participation in five matches. Will that mean finishing as the champion? Possibly, but with the favorites fielding their best that already established chemistry. But should momentum start and they win the group this could be a competition winner and fill in the gaps for Germany going forward.
Germany
FIFA
