Germany vs Japan: 2022 World Cup, Group Stage Match Preview & Dream11 Prediction

Germany vs Japan is next Germany's bid to reestablish their status as a Turniermannschaft (tournament team) begins against Japan.

Match Detail:

• Location: Ar-Rayyan, Qatar
• Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium
• Date: Wednesday 23 November
• Kick-off Time: 
• Watch: Sports 18/HD, Jio Cinema App

Germany vs Japan: Match Preview:

The "Group of Death" at this year's World Cup gets underway as Germany face their first big test in Japan.

With Spain and Costa Rica also looming in the other half of Group E, these two teams know that results in every single match will be absolutely critical towards advancing to the knockout round.

Germany are touted as title contenders, but Japan will hope to play spoiler and knock one of the group's two European giants out early. Germany were eliminated from the 2018 World Cup in the group stage, ending a four-tournament stretch where they reached at least the semifinals.

Team News:

Germany:

Lukas Klostermann lasted 34 minutes before he was replaced in Germany's final warm up match ahead of the World Cup. However, Flick quashed any suggestions of an injury for the RB Leipzig defender, revealing that it was a pre-planned arrangement given Klostermann's lack of game-time this season.

The 26-year-old played just one Bundesliga match before rupturing an ankle ligament in August. And now Leroy Sane injured himself in training and will miss this match.

Neither Thomas Muller nor Antonio Rudiger featured in the squad which beat Oman a week before their World Cup opener. The pair are expected to resume training four days ahead of the fixture and both will have an eye on penetrating Flick's starting XI.

Japan:

Yuya Nakayama had to be replaced in the squad by Shuto Machino after Huddersfield Town confirmed he would require surgery on his Achilles tendon.

Wataru Endo was stretchered off after a clash of heads during Stuttgart's penultimate Bundesliga match. The 29-year-old midfielder sat out his side's final game with a concussion but was included in Japan's final 26.

Takehiro Tomiyasu pulled up with what Mikel Arteta described as "a small injury" during Arsenal's Europa League victory over FC Zurich at the start of the month. A key figure in Japan's setup, Tomiyasu came off the bench in the Blue Samarai's final pre-World Cup friendly against Canada.

Germany vs Japan: Head to Head:

Germany have a good record against Japan and have won two out of the four matches played between the two teams, with the other two matches ending in draws.

Germany are unbeaten in their last two matches against Japan - these games witnessed a total of seven goals being scored in the second half.

Germany have won the FIFA World Cup four times - only Brazil have a more successful track record in the competition.

Predicted Line-ups:

Germany Starting 11 (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Kehrer, Sule, Rudiger, Raum; Kimmich, Goretzka; Hofmann, Musiala, Sane; Havertz.

Bench: Trapp, Ter Stegen, Ginter, Klostemann, Gunter, Schlotterbeck, Bella-Kotchap, Gotze, Muller, Brandt, Gundogan, Fullkrug, Gnabry, Adeyemi, Moukoko.

Japan Starting 11 (4-2-3-1): Shimdt; Sakai, Yoshida, Tomiyasu, Nagatomo; Shibisaki, Morita; J Ito, Kamada, Kubo; Minamino.

Bench: Kawashima, Gonda, Yamane, Taniguchi, Itakura, H Ito, Endo, Doan, Mitoma, Tanaka, Soma, Asano, Machino, Ueda, Maeda.

GER vs JAP: Dream11 Predictions:

For more Germany vs Japan news, follow Sportz Point.