Germany and Brazil will meet for the first time after Joachim Low’s side thrashed the Selecao 7-1 in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2014.
Germany will continue the preparations for the defence of their FIFA World Cup when they host Brazil at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Tuesday night.
Die Mannschaft were held to a 1-1 draw in their previous friendly game by Spain on Friday night and manager Joachim Low will be hoping that his side better that result and register a win against Brazil as they look to generate crucial momentum heading into the summer’s showpiece event in Russia.
Brazil, on the other hand, coasted home to a comfortable 3-0 win against Russia in their last game with defender Joao Miranda and Barcelona duo Philippe Coutinho and Paulinho getting on the scoresheet. And manager Tite will be looking for a similar display against their hosts on Tuesday night, in hope of erasing the memories of the mauling Brazil received the last time these two sides met.
Team News & Tactics
Germany
Midfielder Emre Can has been ruled out of the game with a back injury and has since then returned to his club Liverpool. Low will also be without two other crucial members of his side as both Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil have not travelled with the rest of the squad to Berlin.
Sami Khedira, who started against Spain, is also likely to miss out after picking up an injury in that game. However, there has been a boost to the Germans as midfielder Sebastian Rudy has joined up with the squad after missing the Spain game due to the birth of his son.
There are likely to be a few changes in the side that Low fielded against the Spaniards on Friday. Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno could be in for a start in place of Marc-Andre ter Stegen as the manager looks to assess his options before the World Cup.
In defence, Joshua Kimmich is once again expected to line up as the right-back with Marvin Plattenhardt set to replace Jonas Hector on the opposite side of the back four. At the heart of the backline, Germany are likely to go in with the Bayern Munich duo of Jerome Boateng and Niklas Sule, meaning Mats Hummels sits this one out.
With Khedira set to miss out, Ilkay Gundogan is expected to take his place in the pivot position alongside Real Madrid’s pass maestro Toni Kroos. The two will have a crucial role to play as they will look to stop Brazil’s midfield runners and launch attacks for their team from the middle.
Leroy Sane is set to start the match on the left-flank, the manager has already confirmed post the game against Spain. In Ozil’s absence, the No.10 spot could be taken up by Schalke’s rising star Leon Goretzka while Julian Draxler, who started on the left wing in the last game could find himself shifted out to the right-hand side.
Timo Werner is expected to spearhead the attack once again for Germany.
Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Kimmich, Boateng, Sule, Plattenhardt; Gundogan, Kroos; Draxler, Goretzka, Sane; Werner
Brazil
There are no fresh injury concerns for the Selecao following their 3-0 win over Russia. However, Tite is expected to make a few changes to the side that he started on Friday night, without tweaking the 4-3-3 setup. In goal, Alisson Becker could be replaced by Manchester City star Ederson Moraes who has been in solid form for his club throughout the season.
Seasoned campaigners Dani Alves and Marcelo are expected to hold on to their posts as full-backs on the right and left-hand sides respectively. Sandwiched between them will be the centre-back pairing of Joao Miranda, who scored a goal in the last game and Marquinhos, who is likely to replace his PSG teammate Thiago Silva.
Paulinho has been a constant presence in Tite’s Brazil side and that is unlikely to change for Tuesday’s game, while Philippe Coutinho is also expected to start once again after his stellar outing on Friday. However, one change that could possibly take place in the middle of the park is defensive midfielder Casemiro being replaced by Fernandinho.
Willian has been in tremendous form of late and is set to be retained into the starting XI. He is likely to keep his place on the right flank. On the opposite wing, Douglas Costa did not enjoy the best of the games against Russia, but will be hoping to bounce back on Tuesday. How he fares against his former teammate Kimmich could have a bearing on the game.
Gabriel Jesus has been Tite’s trusted man to lead the line for the national team and while the Manchester City forward was good against Russia, the manager could look to try out Roberto Firmino in his place against the Germans.
Probable Starting XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Alves, Miranda, Marquinhos, Marcelo; Paulinho, Fernandinho, Coutinho; Willian, Firmino, Costa
Key Stats
- Germany, historically, don’t have the best of the records against Brazil, having won 5 five times out of 22 matches and lost as many as 12 games.
- However, they have won both their last meetings against Brazil, in which they have scored 10 times and conceded thrice.
- Germany are currently on an extremely impressive 22-game unbeaten streak.
- Brazil, on the other hand, haven’t lost even once in 13 games, following their 1-0 defeat to Peru in June 2016.
Player to watch
Philippe Coutinho (Brazil)
The Brazilian playmaker was in full flow against Russia in the second period and got his name on the scoresheet from the penalty spot. With Neymar absent, the mantle is on Coutinho to lead this Brazil side from the front and he did not seem fazed by the pressure on Friday night. And Tite will be hoping for more of the same from his star man against in Berlin.
Prediction
Germany 1-1 Brazil
Both the sides look extremely strong on paper and are coming into the game on the back of long unbeaten streaks. Germany would have had the mental edge though, following their impressive win against Brazil last time around. However, with Low’s side missing key players for the game, we at the Hard Tackle expect it to be a fairly evenly contested match which will end in a 1-1 stalemate.