Germany vs. Finland preview: Team news and predicted lineups

Germany:

With the 2026 World Cup just 13 days away from the time of writing, Germany's preparation for football's most prestigious international tournament is starting to crank up a notch. This Sunday evening at 20:45 CET, the four-time world champions will clash with Finland. 

As pressure starts to mount, Julian Nagelsmann will be hoping to build up a head of steam to take over to the USA, Mexico and Canada. Confidence should be relatively high coming into this friendly match given Germany are enjoying a seven-game winning streak dating back to early September.

One thing that is clear ahead of the showdown in Mainz is that Manuel Neuer will not be risked given he is nursing a calf injury sustained in Bayern Munich's last league game. With Oliver Baumann set to start, Nagelsmann should field a strong team with the likes of Kimmich, Tah, Musiala and Wirtz all set to feature. 

Finland:

By contrast, Scandinavian visitors Finland will not be heading across the Atlantic Ocean to set up camp in North America this summer. They never managed to make the World Cup from their qualifying campaign in Group G. A victory over Poland was as good as it got whom they still finished behind in third place. 

Suomi's form has also encountered some instability in recent months, suffering defeat in four of their last six outings. Perhaps most disappointing was their latest loss against group minnows Malta which compounded a miserable end to qualifying for Jacob Friis. Now, however, they can test their mettle against one of the best. 

While snatching only a second-ever win over Germany since 1923 seems unlikely, Finland could still take positives should they deliver a good performance. Aided by like likes of Lukas Hradecky, Naatan Skyattä, Adam Markhiyev and Benjamin Kallman, there's enough names who have experienced German football to know what to expect. 

Team News:

Germany: Julian Nagelsmann already confirmed that he won't rush Manuel Neuer's (calf) return. Aside from the veteran goalkeeper's absence, the hosts should have a full house to choose from on Sunday.

Finland: Jacob Friis and Finland are fortunate enough to have a similarly positive bill of health. Perhaps the only slight doubt is that of 1.FC Nürnberg midfielder Adam Markhiyev who is still feeling the effect of a broken nose.

Predicted lineups:

You can find our predicted lineups for the clash of Germany and Finland by clicking the link here.