Germany vs Japan Predictions - Can Japan Stun the Four Time Champions?

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The four times FIFA World Cup champion Germany is facing Japan in the first match of Group E at the FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar. The two teams have never faced each other in a competitive fixture except for two friendlies in 2004 and 2006; in the former, Germany won while the latter finished in a tie.

Germany, in the FIFA competition, is one of the top tier formidable contenders while Japan more or less has only participated in the tournament. Excluding Qatar, Die Nationalelf has been at the FIFA finals 19 times, and four times they have reached the last 4 and have been finalists seven times winning four of them.

The Germans are more than just the usual team in the world cup having appeared in the competition for a record 20 times (including Qatar), tied with the event’s most successful winner, Brazil. Since 1950, Germany has reached the knockouts or further in every edition except for 2018 when they failed to make it to the round of 16. Only in this century, Die Mannschaft has been in four semifinals out of five.

Japan, on the other hand, has been at the FIFA World Cup six times, prior to the winter event in Qatar. In three of those, they have made it past the group stage reaching the last 16 but never beyond that.

In the presence of Spain and Costa Rica, Germany and Japan know how each match of their group phase is important to advance to the next phase.

That being said, here are some rather direct and concise facts and numbers to see a bit clearer as to who might take the three points from the first game of Group E.

Germany And Japan Recent Forms And Strengths

Heading into Qatar, Germany has nine wins out of ten qualifiers games they played against their fellow European competitors. They were among the few teams to lose only one game in the entire qualification round and win 90 percent of the total outings.

In the qualifiers, coach Hans Dieter Flick’s team scored a total of 36 goals in ten matches. Speaking of the last ten matches (to be followed by their game against Japan), Germany only lost one of those.

German national football team including Kimmich, Gundoguan, Musiala, Sane, Havertz, and others — Germany goes against Japan in their first match of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Though in this run, their win record has diminished a bit compared to other prior matches; they were victorious on only two occasions. Germany’s strength lies in its outrageous assembly of talented players most of whom have been either UCL winners or finalists.

Some consider the current squad’s playmaking ability the best it ever has been in years perhaps even better than the 2014 World Cup winning group in Brazil. The coordination among the teammates is arguably the best among the highest-ranking nations in FIFA.

Concerning their first opponent for this world cup, Japan had a perfect record in their AFC round 2 winning all eight games of their group. However, in round 3, they finished behind this world cup shocker, Saudi Arabia in the six-team table.

They lost two outings out of ten in the final round of Asian qualifiers for the ongoing event in Qatar. In regards to the games adjoining their opening against Germany, Japan has been victorious on five occasions out of ten; they lost three of them and faced a draw in two.

Japan’s strengths for this world cup lie in the fact that most of their players have been playing in one of the top-tier European league competitions, The Bundesliga, and some even in another top flight, the Premier League.

Some players who make Japan formidable against European foes are Monaco’s Takumi Minamo, Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu, Schalke’s Maya Yoshida, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada, Sporting CP’s Hidemasa Morita, and Celtic’s Daizen Maeda.

They may also have the reminder, that they almost knocked 2018 semifinalist Belgium out of the then competition, to boost their confidence whilst competing against their upcoming big-time opponent.

Germany Vs Japan Prediction By Numbers

Bet 365 has given the European side 9/20 odds of taking the whole three points away from the Asian powerhouse while Japan has been given a 6/1 numeric possibility to win their first-ever match of the World Cup 2022. The game has a probability of 7/2 to end in a draw.

A narrow win of 1-0 for the Germans is a likelihood with odds of 8/1. And if that happens, Chelsea’s center forward, Kai Havertz is the most projected man to net the ball with odds of 11/2. However, if Japan happens to kick off the scoreline 5/4 has been given to Frankfurt’s midfielder, Daichi Kamada to be the first man to do so.

Japan faces Germany in the opening game of Group E at the FIFA World Cup 2022 — Japan squad for the FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar

Other bookmakers have provided Germany with an average of 17/35 to win while 13/2 has been given to Japan in that regard. As for the draw, the match has been given 19/5.

In terms of percentages, Germany has been given close to 70% in comparison to Japan’s less than 20%. The chance of a draw is rated at a little more than 20%

All in all, Germany has been a better team on paper and has more bets to win if Japan doesn’t bother them in clutch moments. One of the few yet potential chances for Japan should be in the fact that the German side has recently been struggling to keep the clean sheet or in their defensive area. And they have become more than likely to concede against the FIFA World Cup competent teams.