NBA Postseason Best Bets (5/17)
Alex Christenson
Germany World Cup Team Preview
Germany
FIFA Ranking: 11
Manager: Hansi Flick
Federation: UEFA
Group: Spain, Germany, Japan, Costa Rica
Odds to win World Cup: +1000, DraftKings Sportsbook
Odds to win Group E: +115, DraftKings Sportsbook
Odds to advance in Group E: -650, DraftKings Sportsbook
How did Germany qualify for the World Cup?
Germany streamrolled through qualifying winning nine out of 10 games only losing to a pesky North Macedonia side (my Italian heritage is very mad at North Macedonia).
Who is Germany’s most important player?
Jamal Musiala
Similar to Spain, we are picking the youngest member in Germany’s starting 11 as their most important player in this tournament. Musiala is a rising star, already considered one of the best attacking midfielders in the world at age 19. What makes Musiala so intriguing is his versatility as an attacking midfielder where he will play as Germany’s number 10 but also drift out wide and play as a winger. With Joshua Kimmich likely playing as the German’s defensive midfielder, expect Musiala to lead the link-up play with Germany’s forwards. Germany is a collection of established international veterans with Jamal Musiala as the key to hitting their World Cup ceiling.
What are Germany’s strengths, weaknesses, style of play and form?
Germany is expected to play a 4-2-3-1 with Musiala as a traditional number 10 and Kai Havertz as a modified striker and false-9.
In the past, Germany has been known for their stability. They are a team that rarely make mistakes and a true definition of a well-oiled machine. This German squad is slightly different though, and their greatest strength is their attacking creativity with younger players like Musiala and Kai Havertz. Germany is in their joga bonito faze.
The downside to that is, well the obvious, this German team is known to make mistakes defensively as there is not a continuous effort as a team to defend. We should expect a backline of Sule and Rudinger in the middle with Timo Kehrer and Raum on the outside. This is the least experienced German backline we’ve seen in a while.
Germany recently lost to Hungary 1-0 in the Nations League and drew England 3-3. They are expected to play Oman Nov. 16 and Japan Nov. 23 as World Cup tuneups.
What is Germany’s World Cup Outlook?
In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Germany failed to advance out of the group stage. During Euro 2020, Germany lost to England in the Round of 16. After a stretch of football dominance, Germany had to rebuild and what we’re going to see in this World Cup is the culmination of that rebuild. In all major tournaments, the Germans expect to be at a minimum semi-finalist and are listed as +200 to do so. There are many that think that is an unrealistic expectation considering their defensive issues, me being one of those people. Germany’s ceiling is certainly a World Cup title, but realistically this is a team that will get through the group stage and likely struggle against the first real power they see in the knockout rounds.
Best Germany World Cup Bet
Jamal Musiala, Most Assists: +5000 (consensus)
As Germany’s number 10, Musiala will be the conductor of a very potent and good German offense. With two inferior teams in their group, Germany have the potential to run up the score in two games. They also have the potential to go on a deep run in this tournament. Musiala at +5000 to lead the tournament in assists is a strong longshot bet.
Germany World Cup Roster
GK: Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp
DF: Armel Bella-Kotchap, Matthias Ginter, Christian Gunter, Thilo Kehrer, Lukas Klostermann, David Raum, Antonio Rudiger, Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Sule
MF: Julian Brandt, Niclas Fullkrug, Leon Goretzka, Mario Gotze, Ilkay Gundogan, Jonas Hofmann, Joshua Kimmich
FW: Karim Adeyemi, Serge Gnabry, Kai Havertz, Youssoufa Moukoko, Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane
Group A | Ecuador Senegal Netherlands Qatar
Group B | Iran Wales USA England
Group C | Mexico Saudi Arabia Poland Argentina
Group D | Tunisia Denmark Australia France
Group E | Japan Germany Costa Rica Spain
Group F | Croatia Morocco Canada Belgium
