If World Cup history has taught us anything then it is never to rule out the Germans. Unlike England, there is never much hype around them but they always seem to do well when it matters. They have won it 3 times and have managed to reach the semifinals a record 11 times.
Joachim Löw has selected a young but immensely talented squad. Injuries have affected them badly with key players like Michael Ballack, Simon Rolfes and Heiko Westermann missing. He has placed a lot of faith on players like Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Mark Marin, Badstuber, Toni Kroos. Bundesliga is on the rise and it has surely done Germany a lot of good.It will be really interesting to see whether they can step up to the plate when matters.
Injury to Rene Adler was a blow but in Manuel Neur who is constantly linked to Manchester United they have an excellent replacement. Their second choice keeper Tim Wiese had a good season with Werder Bremen and is also capable of doing a good job if needed.In fact Germany have plenty of good keepers and I hope Arsene Wenger buys one of them because we could certainly do with a keeper who can catch or punch the ball or atleast kick it properly.
In the absence of Michael Ballack, Philip Lahm will captain the side. He will slot in at his customary left back position even though he has played as a right back for Bayern all season. He is absolutely brilliant going forward and his defending is pretty solid too. They don’t have the most talented bunch of defenders but they usually defend really well as a unit. Arne Friedrich will be playing as a right back and he is a really experienced player with 72 caps. Per Mertesacker who looks like more like a basketball player than a footballer will play alongside Badstuber at Centre back. Highly rated Serdar Tasci and Manchester City’s latest signing Boateng provide cover in that position.
Stud for Club and Country
The loss of Michael Ballack is not as big as some think it is. His leadership and experience will certainly be missed. But he really has not been playing well for a long time.Even though Chelsea did the double Ballack had a really poor season. Sami Khedira is likely to replace him. Vastly overrated Bastian Schweinsteiger will be the other central midfielder. He has switched into the central midfield position and has done reasonably well there but he will struggle against top quality sides. They don’t have much creativity in the middle. The responsibility of creating and scoring goals from midfield is on Mesut Ozil and Piotr Trochowski. Mesut Ozil will sooner or later end up with a big club in Italy or England. He has a great left foot along with Trowchowski will prove to be a real threat in midfield. Both of them are also a real threat from set pieces. Marko Marin and Toni Kroos both young and incredibly talented are more than capable of making an impact.
Young Blood - Mesut Ozil
Surprisingly Low has decided to take 6 strikers which is a bit strange. Both Podolski and Klose have not had a great season but then again they always seem to do well for the national team. Even though most managers select players on the basis of form Low has decided to go with these two as their first choice strikers. And now onto my favourite player in this team. Thomas Muller had a smashing season with Bayern and it is a real shame that he will be left out from the starting lineup. He is a bit like Lampard. Has a great goalscoring instinct.Even though he is included as a striker he is more of a attacking midfielder. The kind of role that Gerrard currently plays for Liverpool. Stefan Kießling and Cacau are also options Low has.
Squad-
Goalkeepers: Joerg Butt (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Schalke), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen).
Defenders: Dennis Aogo (Hamburger SV), Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Jerome Boateng (Hamburger SV), Marcell Jansen (Hamburger SV), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart).
Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Stuttgart), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Mesut Oezil (Werder Bremen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger SV).
Forwards: Cacau (Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Cologne)
Prediction- They are in a tough group with Australia,Ghana and Serbia. But they should still make it to the knock out stage. There is a possibility of facing England which certainly will be very exciting especially if they manage to knock England out which will be terrific. It will be a tough ask to go beyond quarters for them but like I said one can never rule them out. If they manage to reach the semis it will be a great achievement and the young players will certainly benefit from the experience. Expect them to be a major force in the coming years
Expected Line Up –
Neuer
Friedrich Badstuber Mertesacker Lahm
Trowchowsky Khedira Schweinsteiger Ozil
Podolski Klose
Fever Pitch 