There aren’t many national teams in the world as successful – or as feared – as Germany. Having won four World Cups and three European Championships, very few national sides can hold a candle to Die Mannschaft.
However, the Germans are on a bit of a barren spell as of late. They haven’t won an international tournament since 2014 – can they reverse their fortunes at the 2026 World Cup?
Today, we’ve put forth a predicted Germany XI at the tournament. We’ve included players from clubs such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United – can you guess who they are?
GK: Oliver Baumann
Oliver Baumann isn’t getting any younger at the age of 35, but he is having the season of his life at Hoffenheim – his performances have helped lead them to 3rd in the Bundesliga table.
Following the international retirement of Manuel Neuer, Baumann has some almighty shoes to fill – let’s see if he can step up to the plate at the World Cup.
RB: Ridle Baku
Ridle Baku is the perfect player to slot into Julian Nagelsmann’s system. He’s fast, aggressive and can play in multiple positions – however, he is best utilised at right-back.
He has registered three assists from right-back for RB Leipzig this season – he also has eight caps to his name, so he is no stranger to the international stage.
CB: Nico Schlotterbeck
Germany have a couple of problem positions at the moment, but centre-back certainly isn’t one of them. Nico Schlotterbeck might be the best of the bunch – as a modern defender, he can do practically everything.
He has had a couple of injury issues this season, but his place in the Germany team looks solid as of right now.
CB: Jonathan Tah
Jonathan Tah beats out some stern competition to accompany Schlotterbeck at centre-back – Nagelsmann seems to prefer him over his contemporaries.
However, he isn’t in the team solely based on the manager’s preferences – Tah is a phenomenal aerial presence and is also very quick for a centre-half.