Seeking to consign dismal memories of Russia 2018 to history, Germany kick off their World Cup 2022 Group E campaign against Japan at the Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday.
Die Mannschaft were eliminated from the group stage four years ago, while their Asian counterparts were on the verge of stunning Belgium in the last 16 before being eliminated.
Match preview
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The curse of the defending champions was well and truly alive for Germany at the 2018 World Cup, as the side formerly led by Joachim Low saw the defence of their 2014 crown end at the first hurdle before a last-16 elimination to England in the recent European Championships.
Defeat at Wembley marked the end of Low's celebrated tenure in the Mannschaft hotseat, as serial winner Hansi Flick embarked on a new adventure with the national team, who may be going under the radar somewhat as Argentina and Brazil earn the favourites tags.
On the other hand, an underwhelming record of just two wins from their last eight games has not served to increase the German confidence, as Die Mannschaft finished third in their Nations League group with Italy, England and Hungary before beating Oman 1-0 in a warm-up friendly last Wednesday.
With fellow four-time winners Italy not present at the tournament, Germany can equal Brazil's long-standing record of five World Cup crowns should they go all the way in Qatar, but navigating a group with Japan, Costa Rica and Spain will not be a walk in the park if recent results are anything to go by.
Die Mannschaft held the honour of being the first team to qualify for the World Cup finals - with the exception of host nation in Qatar - and a 1-0 loss to Mexico in 2018 marked the first time since 1986 that they had failed to secure all three points on the opening matchday.
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Takashi Inui's wonder strike to put Japan 2-0 up against Belgium would seemingly seal an unexpected route into the last eight of the 2018 World Cup for the Samurai Blue, who ultimately succumbed to three Red Devils strikes to end their hopes of a first-ever quarter-final appearance.
Japan have made a habit of going out in the group stage before reaching the last 16 of the World Cup in their six tournaments since 1998, which does not bode well for Hajime Moriyasu's men this time around, but qualifying from 15 wins from 18 and a record 58 goals is certainly a good omen.
Moriyasu's side pitted their wits against fellow World Cup foes Canada in their warm-up friendly but fell to a 2-1 defeat, and they have only claimed five wins from 21 games in the World Cup finals as they attempt to upset the apple cart in Group E.
However, Japan's most recent World Cup success did come on the opening day of the 2018 tournament - a 2-1 victory over Colombia - and Moriyasu's side now endeavour to follow in the footsteps of close neighbours South Korea, who defeated Germany in the Russia competition four years ago.
Germany and Japan have never locked horns in a competitive match before, but it will not come as much of a surprise to learn that the four-time World Cup champions are unbeaten in both of their previous meetings, winning a 2004 friendly 3-0 before a 2-2 draw in another exhibition game two years later.
Team News
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The pre-World Cup talk regarding the Germany camp was unsurprisingly focused on Marco Reus, who suffered yet another cruel injury blow to rule him out of the World Cup, having also missed Euro 2016, Euro 2020 and the triumphant 2014 tournament.
However, Germany are expected to be working with a fully-fit squad for the opening matchday barring knee victim Leroy Sane, with striker Niclas Fullkrug back from illness and the duo of Thomas Muller and Antonio Rudiger also returning to full training over the weekend.
Returning to the national team following his exile, Muller is now aiming to build on a record of 10 goals and six assists in 16 World Cup matches for Germany, and the Bayern Munich veteran will hope to get the nod to spearhead the charge.
As for Japan, Karou Mitoma and Wataru Endo have overcome illness and a head injury respectively to make themselves available, while Sporting Lisbon midfielder Hidemasa Morita is back from a calf problem and could be fit enough to start.
Arsenal right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu was rested against Canada following his recent muscular problem but should be fine to take his place in the team here, most likely alongside 122-cap skipper Maya Yoshida in the heart of defence.
Attacking options are rife within the Samurai Blue's ranks for the World Cup, and Takuma Asano's greater international experience compared to his fellow forwards should work in his favour.
Germany possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Kehrer, Sule, Rudiger, Raum; Kimmich, Gundogan; Hofmann, Musiala, Gnabry; Muller
Japan possible starting lineup:
Gonda; Sakai, Tomiyasu, Yoshida, Nagatomo; Morita, Endo, Kamada; Ito, Asano, Minamino
We say: Germany 3-1 Japan
Germany did not exactly cover themselves in glory in the UEFA Nations League and are still haunted by the memories of the 2018 World Cup, so do not be surprised to see Japan's plethora of attacking options cause a few problems here.
However, Die Mannschaft traditionally perform well on the opening matchday and are working with a fully-fit squad, so we can only picture Flick's side getting off to the perfect start.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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