3 reasons Germany can win the World Cup again this summer
Here are three good reasons Germany have a good chance of winning the World Cup for the fifth time this summer.
A new World Cup tournament is approaching, and as always Germany are among the favourites. The reigning World Champions have reached at least the semi-finals at the last four World Cup tournaments, and Joachim Löw’s troops should have a good possibility of going far this time around as well. In fact, they could go all the way – and here are three reasons why:
1. Squad depth
The German World Cup squad is strong in almost every position which means that if an injury occurs, it is likely that another world class player will step up. The goalkeepers, central defenders and midfielders are particularly strong with the the two full-backs being the only small weakness. Joshua Kimmich is a world class right back, but the rest of the German full-backs are below par compared to the squad in general. However, the left back was also a clear weakness at the World Cup in 2014, when central defender Benedikt Höwedes was moved to left back, and as we all know Germany ended up winning the tournament back then.
2. Experience
Joachim Löw has been the German national team coach since 2006 and has gathered a lot of experience over the years. So far, he has secured Germany two bronze medals and a gold medal. Looking at the line-up from the World Cup final in 2014, six of the starters are also in the squad this time around, and they are all expected to start once again. Generally, many of the German players also have a lot of experience from playing on club level for some of Europe’s biggest clubs such as Bayern München, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea.
3. Familiar faces
Many of the players in the German national team have played together for years and must know each other very well. Some of them know each other from several years at the national team while others also even for the same club. For example, there are seven Bayern München players in the preliminary squad, and with Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Joshua Kimmich all being expected starters most of the defense consists of players from the German champions.