Germany will look for revenge when they host Japan in a friendly fixture at Wolfsburg’s Volkswagen Arena on Saturday evening.
A high-flying Japan team will hit the road to square up against Germany. The Asian giants have been on fire in the recent past, and they will look to once again take down the European giants after having done so in the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Meanwhile, the home team will look to return to winning ways and take revenge for that defeat in the World Cup.
Germany are the host of UEFA Euro 2024, as a result, they do not need to take part in the qualification process, and they have not played an official match since the World Cup which did not go according to plan for them. They were knocked out of the group stage for the second consecutive time.
While Hansi Flick’s men have not taken part in official matches, they have played a few friendlies of late. But, those results have not been pleasing enough. Germany have lost three out of their last four friendly outings. And, they will surely look to return to winning ways when they square up against Japan.
Meanwhile, the visitors have been playing some interesting football in the recent past. They did a great job at the FIFA World Cup and have been going from strength to strength over the past few years. The Asian team got the better of Germany at the global event and they will look for something similar.
Japan have found the back of the net 10 times in their last two outings. They have only lost once in their last four outings. The visitors have been on fire of late and are heading into this encounter on the back of a 4-1 win over Peru back in June.
While Germany have a much stronger squad on paper, Japan have already proved that they can get one better over the European giants. As a result, it will be a closely fought encounter and The Hard Tackle takes a closer look to predict the tactics they could use.
Team News & Tactics
Germany
Hansi Flick has left out quite a few senior players from the squad for this round of matches. The likes of Marco Reus, Timo Werner, Mario Gotze and Leon Goretzka have not been called up. Even Thomas Muller was not a part of the initial squad but he has replaced Niclas Fullkrug, who has withdrawn because of a minor injury. Jamal Musiala has also withdrawn from the squad.
🚨 INJURY UPDATE
Jamal Musiala will be unavailable for the upcoming international fixtures against Japan and France due to back problems 😔
Get well soon, Jamal! 🖤❤️💛#dfbteam 📸 Getty Images pic.twitter.com/PFxYywSxYX
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) September 7, 2023
Meanwhile, Pascal Gross has been called up to the squad for the first time, joining uncapped goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. Flick is expected to go ahead with the 3-4-2-1 formation, where Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal. The back three will be made up of Antonio Rudiger, Niklas Sule and Malick Thiaw.
Joshua Kimmich will start out wide on the right as the wing-back, and on the other flank, we will have Robin Gosens. Ilkay Gundogan and Emre Can will be the midfield duo in the centre of the park.
Thomas Muller and Florian Wirtz will play just in behind the striker as the attacking midfielders. The duo will be the main source of creativity. They will look to stay close to their striker and the width to their attacks will be provided by the wing-backs. Serge Gnabry will start up top as the number nine for this fixture.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): ter Stegen; Rudiger, Sule, Thiaw; Kimmich, Can, Gundogan, Gosens; Muller, Wirtz; Gnabry
Japan
Japan have called up a full-strength squad for this round of international fixtures. Their squad is full of Premier League and Bundesliga stars. And, the majority of them are expected to take the field against Germany.
Germany National Team squad – International Friendly Match vs SAMURAI BLUE (9/9＠Germany) #football https://t.co/772AIbAfdy
— jfa_en (@jfa_en) September 8, 2023
The visitors will go ahead with the 4-4-2 formation, where Kosuke Nakamura will be in goal. In the heart of the defence, Ko Itakura will pair up with Shogo Taniguchi. The duo will have the tough task of keeping a star-studded German attack at bay. They will have the support of full-backs, Yukinari Sugawara and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Hiroki Ito and Kaoru Mitoma will start out wide in the centre of the park. They will double up with their full-backs to defend against the opposition’s wide players and will also look to provide width to their attacks.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s new signing Wataru Endo will pair up with Takefusa Kubo in a more central role. Endo will most likely sit in front of the back four while Kubo will look to add creativity to their attacks. Daichi Kamada and Kyogo Furuhashi will start up top as the strike partnership.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Nakamura; Sugawara, Itakura, Taniguchi, Tomiyasu; Ito, Endo, Kubo, Mitoma; Kamada, Furuhashi
Key Stats
- Germany have been winless in their last four outings, they have lost three of those fixtures.
- Japan have won two out of their last four outings since the World Cup. And, they have been on the wrong side of the result only once.
- The visitors have scored 10 goals in their last two outings.
- The last meeting between the two teams saw Japan win 2-1 during the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
- The home team have only won two out of their last eight outings in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Thomas Muller
Muller has been an integral part of the German national team for years now. The 33-year-old is expected to start in this fixture against Japan and he will be eager to prove his point. While he has done wonders for both Bayern Munich and Germany, Muller has not had the desired minutes at club level this season.
He has been involved in three matches but has been on the pitch for just over 90 minutes and has a goal to show for it. The 33-year-old would love to make a statement with an impressive performance.
Prediction
Germany 2-1 Japan
Japan might have defeated Germany at the FIFA World Cup 2022, but they will still head into this fixture as underdogs given the difference in quality between the two squads. The visitors have only lost one out of their last four matches while the home team have been winless in their last four outings.
Germany’s recent track record suggests they might once be at the receiving end. But, given the quality of their squad, they are expected to put up a fight. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for the home team.
