Germany – Japan

Not a lot of goals to be expected. The Japanese must play carefully on defence

On 23 November, Germany and Japan will clash at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Germans are keen to make amends for their shameful showing four years ago. That is not to say that the German squad has been growing perceptibly stronger since then, but they still have enough left in them to be successful. Qualifying for the playoffs is the bare minimum for the Germans, and a win against the Japanese would be an important step on the way to doing so. Japan play consistently at the World Cup. They play extremely well and often make it to the play-offs. Now it will be difficult to do so because of the appearance of Spain and Germany in the group. They were previously fortunate to be drawn, but now they have no choice but to exploit the weaknesses of their arch-rivals. Germany have a problem. The team suffers from the lack of a good prolific forward. They have the kind of player who can help any team reach a fundamentally new level, but not everyone has one. The Germans had high hopes for Timo Werner, but he has failed to live up to expectations and now he is not going to the tournament because of an injury. Flik called on two debutants in the attack: Jussuf Mukoko and Niklas Füllkrug. The German national team might face difficulties in the upcoming meeting. When the Germans come up against opponents who know how to play defensively, leave no open areas, make no fouls, and stay focused, they will be in trouble. The Japanese players are unimpressive in name, but through discipline the defenders often play reliably. Germany's World Cup qualifiers were potent and efficient, but they were frankly weak. In six of their last eight matches, however, the Germans have not scored more than one goal. The exceptions have been resounding: three goals to the English and five to the Italians. The Germans cannot consistently score as many goals. Japan know how to defend. In the upcoming game, the visitors will act as the number two and try not to make any errors near their goal. A goal scoring extravaganza is not to be expected. An interesting encounter is expected; however, Germany are unlikely to stage a rout in the opening game of the Mundial. They will not score more than three goals.