Germany has confirmed their squad list for FIFA World Cup 2022. While the world champion four times, the European powerhouse has had a disappointing run in the last several major international tournaments.
And this time, they sure will be out on the quest for redemption. Die Mannschaft made headlines when they included their 2014 national hero Mario Gotze who won them the coveted FIFA trophy in Brazil by scoring against Argentia in the added time.
Another discussion-worthy inclusion is Bayern Munchen’s young forward Jamal Musiala. The 19-year-old youngster has already become an integral part of the German powerhouse and will be a treat to watch for the home fans and even others.
On the downside, Marco Reus’ exclusion due to injury is hurtful as always but this German team has just too many talents to miss even the ace of its players.
So who else has Germany picked for their 26-man squad for the big competition in Qatar?
Germany’s 26-Men Roster for The FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Manuel Neuer | Bayern Munich (GER) | 36 | 113 |
| Goalkeeper | Marc-Andre ter Stegen | Barcelona (SPA) | 30 | 30 |
| Goalkeeper | Kevin Trapp | Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) | 32 | 6 |
| Defender | Armel Bella-Kotchap | Southampton (ENG) | 20 | 1 |
| Defender | Mattias Ginter | SC Freiburg (GER) | 28 | 46 |
| Defender | Christian Gunter | Freiburg (GER) | 29 | 6 |
| Defender | Thilo Kehrer | West Ham (ENG) | 26 | 22 |
| Defender | Lukas Klostermann | RB Leipzig (GER) | 26 | 18 |
| Defender | David Raum | RB Leipzig (GER) | 24 | 11 |
| Defender | Antonio Rudiger | Real Madrid (SPA) | 29 | 54 |
| Defender | Nico Schlotterbeck | Borussia Dortmund (GER) | 22 | 5 |
| Defender | Niklas Sule | Borussia Dortmund (GER) | 27 | 42 |
| Midfielder | Julian Brandt | Borussia Dortmund (GER) | 26 | 38 |
| Midfielder | Leon Goretzka | Bayern Munich (GER) | 44 | 14 |
| Midfielder | Ilkay Gundogan | Manchester City (ENG) | 31 | 62 |
| Midfielder | Mario Gotze | Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) | 30 | 63 |
| Midfielder | Jonas Hofmann | B. Monchengladbach (GER) | 30 | 16 |
| Midfielder | Joshua Kimmich | Bayern Munich (GER) | 27 | 70 |
| Midfielder | Jamal Musiala | Bayern Munich (GER) | 19 | 17 |
| Forward | Youssoufa Moukoko | Borussia Dortmund (GER) | 17 | 0 |
| Forward | Karim Adeyemi | Borussia Dortmund (GER) | 20 | 4 |
| Forward | Niclas Fullkrug | Werder Bremen (GER) | 29 | 0 |
| Forward | Serge Gnabry | Bayern Munich (GER) | 27 | 36 |
| Forward | Kai Havertz | Chelsea (ENG) | 23 | 30 |
| Forward | Thomas Muller | Bayern Munich (GER) | 33 | 118 |
| Forward | Leroy Sane | Bayern Munich (GER) | 26 | 47 |
Germany Group Table
They are in the group of death and the pool has been called rightly so. The teams they will be facing are Spain, Japan, and Costa Rica.
Germany Group Fixtures
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | Stadium |
| Wed, Nov. 23 | Germany vs. Japan | 8 a.m. | Khalifa Int’l |
| Sun, Nov. 27 | Spain vs. Germany | 2 p.m. | Al Bayt |
| Thurs, Dec. 1 | Costa Rica vs. Germany | 2 p.m. | Al Bayt |
Germany Strengths
They have quite a lot actually.
Their counter-pressing and if needed the ability to play possession-based football is second to no one.
The team has always looked like they have almost mastered a counter-attacking football.
Die Mannschaft never seems to run out of options for quality finishers; players like Ilkay Gundogan, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Leroy Sane, and Serge Gnabry all have been showing their elite-level finishing for several years in Europe’s top-tier competitions.
Each of their players has a sound knack for playmaking and the efficiency of it seems to get better with every passing year.
A UCL-winning coach with Bayern, the team that thrashed Barcelona with an outrageous scoreline of 8-2, Hansi Flick’s presence in the managerial position is another strong feat of theirs.
Germany Weaknesses
Similar to other possession preferring teams, the problem with Germany has been in its backlines, especially on the flanks. Coach Flick seems to have had problems giving proper instructions to its fullbacks or finding the ones who can do duties in both defending and attacking mode.
The center-backs appear as if they still might need some time to attain the rock-solid defending abilities the former backlines of Germany had when they were champions in 2014. In the big fixtures, the main men at the back have shown vulnerabilities.
Rudiger of Real Madrid seems to be the only perfect person at back but the problem is not one of his supporting defenders are matching his abilities. Additionally, the team is still in the middle of a rebuild.
Their Group situation, where they are embedded in the likes of Spain, Costa Rica, and Japan, also counts as one of the disadvantages.
Expectations On Germany
Speaking of the group phase, Germany should have it relatively easier with Japan. The win against Costa Rica might come at the expense of a bit more caring and work. The toughest to say is against Spain, the only fixture, because of which experts have hesitated to call the Germans the group winners. However should they finish ahead of La Rojas, they may force the analysts to consider them the serious title contender.
In the event that Germany wins Group E, while they might have a relatively easy opponent in Croatia or Belgium, the quarter-finals won’t be a picnic at all where they have a good possibility of facing Brazil or Switzerland. Up next will probably be Argentina followed by an equally decent chance of facing France.
If the Germans finish second in the group stage, their path to the final will likely still have opponents like Belgium or Croatia, But after that their probable foes will be Portugal, France, and Brazil respectively. Note that this could change in accordance with the group stage results of the teams mentioned above.
On a different note, considering the very less time they have before the main event in Qatar, their current defensive end does not have enough matches where they could have found that right sync. They have to do that in the main event itself. Having said that they are likely to make mistakes, especially when faced with lightning counterattack; also how England thrashed them in the Euro 2020 semi-final.
Polls have been suggesting a quarter-final at best.
