Whereas the other 24 countries would be improving on their performances during the Mundial, these big seven would be doing things on impulse arising from playing together through big games, such as the World Cup and the Confederations Cup. The biggest beneficiary of these two competitions are the Germans, who used virtually two sets of players to win the World Cup in Brazil four years ago and the Confederations Cup two years ago.
Germany’s manager Loew was pummelled by the press and nationals when he dropped the nucleus of the World Cup team to the Confederations Cup. They couldn’t understand what points the manager wanted to prove to the world. For them, those who won the World Cup should be allowed to annexe the Confederations Cup, possibly to join the league of players who have achieved this feat in other countries.
Not so for Loew, who was looking at the bigger picture- the future of the German side beyond the era of the golden generation. Today, Loew is the victor, as he has over 30 players who can win the World Cup back-to-back, if he gets his tactics right.
Germany’s problem at the Mundial would not be blending, it would be how to manage the players’ tendencies to be overconfident, but this could be addressed easily by Loew’s tactical substitutions. He has at least two players per position who have delivered performances for club and country. It won’t be out of place to tip Germany to win the World Cup again. Well, that is one permutation for the Mundial. The history of the World Cup is full of fairytales where minnows humble the past winners.
With players, such as Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Julian Draxler (PSG), Ýlkay Gündoðan (Manchester City) and Leroy Sané (Manchester City) in the midfield, it will take more than just ill-luck for the Germans to beaten by pre tenders. Loew has a load on his shoulders with this galaxy of midfielders who would deliver defence-splitting passes to renowned and ruthless strikers, such as Mario Gómez (VfB Stuttgart),Lars Stindl (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Sandro Wagner (Bayern Munich) and Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich). Need I list the German goalkeepers and defenders who have done well with their clubs? It will take lot to beat these Germans because they are young and immensely skilful.