Will Germany get the expected opening victory?
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar gets underway for fans of the German national team on Wednesday. The four-time world champions will play their opening match against Japan. This will be the 20th time that a German team has taken part in a World Cup. Only record world champion Brazil can boast more participations. This will be the seventh World Cup for the Samurai Blue from the Far East. The Japanese have been in the tournament every year since 1998 in France.
Since 2002, Germany has reached at least the semi-finals in four out of five World Cups. This is also the goal in Qatar. First, however, they have to get through the group stage, and the DFB team tends to share first place in Group E with Spain. Therefore, in the opening match between Germany and Japan, we recommend betting on a win for Germany
However, it has become apparent in recent months that Germany does have problems, especially against deep opponents. But it is not in the Samurai Blue’s nature to huddle at the back. They will also look for their salvation, at least at times, on the offensive. Therefore, it sounds plausible and also more interesting in terms of the odds to predict goals for both teams in the duel between Germany and Japan.
Germany – Statistics & current form
After the hosts from Qatar, Germany were the first team to punch their ticket to the World Cup. Hansi Flick had a correspondingly long time to prepare to put together his squad. There was a lot of discussion beforehand about whether the national coach had taken the right players. The first answer will be given on Wednesday in the duel with the Japanese.
Goals should be guaranteed
Goals are definitely to be expected. After all, Germany has scored the most goals in European qualifying after England. Moreover, there has not been a goalless draw in the last 50 World Cup matches with German participation. However, the four-time world champions have not been in such good form lately. Under Hansi Flick, there has only been one defeat in 16 international matches, but the German team has only won twice in the last eight games. Nevertheless, the odds on a DFB win in the match between Germany and Japan are the ones to keep an eye on.
Time has not allowed for more, and so Germany have only completed one test before the World Cup. Against Oman, many supposed regulars did not play, but it was still a rather dismal performance. There was hardly any scoring danger on the offensive and defensively the German defence was very shaky. It was Niclas Füllkrug who scored the goal of the day in his first international match for a 1-0 win. Nevertheless, it will hardly be enough for the man from Bremen to make the starting eleven.
Predicted line-up of Germany:
Neuer – Kehrer, Rüdiger, Süle, Raum – Kimmich, Goretzka – Musiala, Müller, Gnabry – Havertz – Coach: Flick
Last matches played by Germany:
Friendly matches
16/11/2022 – Oman 0 – 1 Germany
UEFA Nations League A Grp. 3
27/09/2022 – England 3 – 3 Germany
24/09/2022 – Germany 0 – 1 Hungary
15/06/2022 – Germany 5 – 2 Italy
12/06/2022 – Hungary 1 – 1 Germany
Japan – Statistics & current form
The Japanese have been one of the best teams in Asia for decades. One reason for this is also the development of many players in Germany. After the DFB eleven, the Samurai Blue has the most players in its line-up who earn their money in the first and second Bundesliga. National coach Hajime Moriyasu has nominated eight Japanese players who are employed in Germany for the World Cup alone.
Only one win in the last eight World Cup matches
There will therefore hardly be any secrets in this direct duel. While the Japanese always perform well in the qualifying rounds, things don’t work out at the World Cup. The team from the Far East has won only one of the last eight World Cup matches. For us, this means that we would not make any predictions on a victory for the Asians between Germany and Japan.
In addition, Japan made a mess of their dress rehearsal against Canada last week. Yuki Soma actually gave his team an early lead. In the fifth minute of injury time, however, the Asians conceded the goal to lose 2-1. It should be noted, however, that this was the only defeat in the last six games. Before that, the Samurai Blue had not conceded a goal in five international matches.
Wataru Ende and Hidemasa Morita are both doubtful for the Japanese team. The two defensive midfielders have been ailing lately. It could be a race against time until kick-off. Japan’s showpiece should be their attacking midfield with Takumi Minamino, Ritsu Doan and Daichi Kamada. These three players in particular could stage one or two goal-threatening actions for the Asians.
Predicted line-up of Japan:
Gonda – Nagatomo, Itakura, Ito, Tomiyasu – Morita, Shibasaki – Minamino, Kamada, Doan – Asano – Coach: Moriyasu
Last matches played by Japan:
Friendly matches
17/11/2022 – Japan 1 – 2 Canada
27/09/2022 – Japan 0 – 0 Ecuador
23/09/2022 – Japan 2 – 0 USA
East Asian Championship
27/07/2022 – Japan 3 – 0 South Korea
24/07/2022 – Japan 0 – 0 China
Germany – Japan Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
For the very first time, the selection teams from Germany and Japan meet in a competitive match. So far, these two teams have only crossed paths twice, both times on friendly terms. So far, Germany have won one and Japan have drawn one, so the Japanese are still waiting for their first win against Germany.
In December 2004, the DFB team won 3-0 in Yokohama after goals by Miroslav Klose (2) and Michael Ballack. The last meeting was in May 2006 in preparation for Germany’s home World Cup. Naohiro Takahara, then under contract with HSV, gave Japan a 2-0 lead with a brace in Leverkusen. Goals from Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger just helped the German team to a 2-2 draw.
Germany – Japan Tip
Traditionally, a lot hinges on the opening game of a major tournament. As a rule, the German team performs well and gains the self-confidence to go far in a World Cup. All the bookmakers have the Eagles as the clear favourites, even if the last results were hardly cause for increased optimism. After all, there has only been one defeat in 16 international matches under Hansi Flick.
Of their last six games, Japan only lost the dress rehearsal against Canada, but before that they did not even concede a goal in five games. However, we don’t think the Japanese defence will be able to withstand the German attacks, but expect the strong Asian attack to also produce countable results.
However, we think that the German team knows how late the hour has struck. An opening win would be extremely important in order not to jeopardise their further goals. Hansi Flick’s team should perform accordingly on Wednesday. On balance, we have therefore decided to play the betting odds on a German victory with goals from both teams in the match between Germany and Japan.
