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Germany vs Sweden
Germany vs Sweden: The second round
of matches is underway as Germany take on Sweden in Group F. The
much-fancied Germans were stunned in their opening game, going down 1-0
to Mexico, so a win against the Swedes is vital if they are to qualify
from the group stages. Sweden got their campaign up and running with a
1-0 win over South Korea. And a win for Janne Andersson’s side could see
reigning world champions Germany exit the World Cup after the first
round for the first time in 80 years.
The champions lost their opener against
Mexico, while the Swedes bagged a narrow win over South Korea. Given Die
Mannschaft’s poor showing against El Tri, the team could make a handful
of changes for this fixture.
Germany vs Sweden Match Details
Date: Saturday, June 23
Time: 9 p.m. local time, 7 p.m. BST, 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Fisht Stadium, Sochi, Russia
TV Info/Live Stream: ITV (UK)/Fox (U.S.)
Germany vs Sweden Team News
According to WhoScored.com, both teams
enter the match without significant injuries. That means Manchester
United defender Victor Lindelof should be ready to return for Sweden,
with Pontus Jansson expected to take a spot on the bench.
Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira were two of
Germany’s weakest performers in their loss against Mexico, and Marco
Reus and Ilkay Gundogan are likely replacements, per WhoScored.
Make-or-Break for Germany
Die Mannschaft have been among the most
consistent teams in world football for years, but all kinds of things
went wrong in the loss against Mexico, putting their spot in the next
round in serious threat.
Thomas Muller played one of the worst
outings of his international career, an extension of the disappointing
form he has displayed at club level last season.
There have been calls to drop the Bayern Munich man, but given his track record with the world champions, it seems unlikely.
Further back, Joshua Kimmich’s tendency
to contribute in attack created all kinds of problems in defence, as no
one showed any urgency to slide into his spot to cover. Ozil simply
forgot half the time, and when he did, Hirving Lozano easily exposed his
defensive limitations with a simple cutback before scoring.
Kimmich won’t be dropped―his attacking
contributions are pivotal. Instead, expect manager Joachim Low to either
instruct Ozil to keep an eye on things and drop back if needed or
introduce a midfielder with a better feel for defending. Gundogan could
be that man.
Like Mexico, Sweden have a tendency to do
a lot of their damage out wide and in transition. RB Leipzig’s Emil
Forsberg will pose similar problems as the one highlighted by Lozano, so
change is desperately needed.
Germany
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Paris St Germain).
Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern
Munich), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Jonas Hector
(Cologne), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich),
Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Antonio Ruediger (Chelsea), Niklas
Suele (Bayern Munich).
Midfielders: Julian Brandt (Bayer
Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Paris St Germain), Leon Goretzka (Schalke
04), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Toni
Kroos (Real Madrid), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Sebastian Rudy
(Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal).
Forwards: Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig).
Sweden
Robin Olsen, Karl-Johan Johnsson,
Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Mikael Lustig, Victor Lindelof, Andreas Granqvist,
Martin Olsson, Ludwig Augustinsson, Filip Helander, Emil Krafth, Pontus
Jansson, Sebastian Larsson, Albin Ekdal, Emil Forsberg, Gustav
Svensson, Oscar Hiljemark, Viktor Claesson, Marcus Rohden, Jimmy Durmaz,
Marcus Berg, John Guidetti, Ola Toivonen, Isaac Kiese Thelin.
In attack, Germany need a little more
urgency―Khedira and Ozil slowed the play down too much, and the
directness of Reus should be a welcome sight.
Germany vs Sweden What’s the latest news?
Sweden’s World Cup clash with Germany in
Sochi on Saturday will carry extra sporting spice for their defender
Martin Olsson because his sister is married to top German basketball
player Dirk Nowitzki.
As soon as the draw was made the
full-back’s phone started buzzing with messages from his brother-in-law,
who plays for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA on the other side of the
Atlantic.
“He’s a big football fan, so there’s a
lot of football talk in the family,” Olsson said. “We have a family chat
on WhatsApp so there’s been a good bit of banter. He probably wants
Germany to win but it hasn’t got serious yet, before the game starts it
probably will.”
Sweden outlasted Holland to advance in
World Cup qualifying. When the Swedes got to the European play-off round
and a chance to reach Russia, they methodically eliminated past
champion Italy over two games.
At this point, why not knock out another
high-profile team – and the pre-tournament favourites at that? If that
were to happen, it would be the second consecutive World Cup where the
defending champion have been knocked out of contention before the
knockout stage.
Prediction: Germany 2-0 Sweden
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