Germany tend to make a habit of turning on the style when it really matters.
In the build-up to the 2006 World Cup, Joachim Low’s side drew with Japan, lost to Slovakia and Turkey, and were hammered 4-1 by Italy. They went on to finish third on home soil.
They failed to beat either Finland or Noway before reaching the semi-finals again in 2010. And, just a couple of weeks before kick-starting their 2014 campaign with a four-goal thumping of Portugal, Germany were held to successive draws by Cameroon and Poland.
And we all remember how that tournament turned out; Mario Gotze sparking wild celebrations on the streets of Berlin. So a recent run of four straight draws should probably be taken with enough salt to season a year’s supply of McDonald’s fries.
Can Germany win a fifth FIFA World Cup at Qatar 2022?
Only Brazil have won the World Cup more times than Germany’s four, after all. Should Hansi Flick’s side bounce back from a disappointing Euro 2020 in Qatar, they will become the joint-most successful nation in the tournament’s history.
What’s more, no one has reached a World Cup final more frequently than Germany (eight times). No one has reached the semi-final with more regularity either (13). More often than not, they tend to make their presence felt.
The big question, however, is whether this Germany side have the talent and the depth to emulate the legendary teams of 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014. Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller remain from that nerve-shredding triumph over Argentina eight years ago, supplemented by a smattering of elite-level talent and some of the game’s most exciting youngsters.
Would you really bet against a side boasting Neuer, Muller or Joshua Kimmich from going all the way in Qatar? Not to mention Antonio Rudiger, Ilkay Gundogan, Leon Goretzka, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry. The absence of a truly world-leading centre-forward is a concern, of course. But Germany, more often than not, simply find a way to win.
And, in Flick, they have a coach who led Bayern to a treble in 2021. The 57-year-old was also Low’s assistant in Brazil.
Marco Reus, meanwhile, should feature in just his third international tournament. The Borussia Dortmund forward has had his fair share of misfortune over the years. But the injury picked up during the recent 1-0 victory over rivals Schalke is not as serious as first feared.
Reus will reportedly miss just three weeks of action. A rare stroke of luck in his national team career.
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