Germany’s Defense of their World Cup Title

By SAM BARRETT '21

Four years ago, in Rio de Janeiro, the German International Soccer team won 1-0 against Argentina in extra time. This was their first win since 1990, and German fans began to think about what would happen next. Following the 2014 tournament, the team dispersed and players returned to the clubs, reuniting periodically for practices and friendly matches against other international teams. Two years later in 2016, the team qualified for the UEFA Euro cup, where they made it to the Semi-Finals until suffering a disappointing 2-0 defeat to France.

Since then, the team has only gotten better, even winning the Confederations Cup in 2017. Now, four years later, we watch as they prepare for their defense of the title. With their number one goalie, Manuel Neuer, out with a foot fracture and unsure if he will return for the world cup, the team and its manager are scrambling to prepare for the upcoming tournament.

In preparation, the team has had many friendly matches; however, these matches are slowly draining the energy from all members. Thomas Müller, one of the starting forwards, said, "Everybody knows that it's time to perform. Nobody can afford to take it easy, and that's good for us." Their hard work and dedication to the defense of their title are creating a troubled team because as more time is put in, the team is becoming more stressed and pressured into performing their absolute best at every match.

With many new players and also the possibility of certain contracts terminated at the end of this season, it is imperative for the team to excel and hopefully repeat their winning performance from Rio. However, as seen in training and recent matches the team has not been playing the same as four years ago, especially with multiple star players out or gone.

The team began training seriously about six months ago in Italy, working rigorously to get their perfect form again, and it seems that it has been working. At most friendly matches since then, both rookies and veterans have performed well together. Since 2014, Germany has won the Confederations Cup in 2017 and have demonstrated their potential at every possibility. That’s not to say the ultimate goal of winning again is going to be easy. In their first group stage, Germany will be facing Mexico, a very well maintained team that has a lot of potentials as well as South Korea and Sweden.

Germany will be facing tough competition throughout this tournament as many of the capable teams will be moving to the elimination stage. This will most likely include Argentina, the runner-up in 2014, Spain, and England, all of which are teams with plenty of potential. This year, Germany starts easy, which seems to constantly happen to previous winning teams; however, as the tournament progresses, they will have to work harder and harder every match if they want to win.