【Team Guide】Die Mannschaft Germany

Nation: Germany

FIFA ranking: 11th

World Cup achievements: Winners (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014)

If you want World Cup pedigree, look no further than Germany. No team in the tournament's history has reached more finals than Germany's eight, while their four titles can only be bettered by Brazil.

Germany's World Cup glory is no distant memory, with their most recent triumph coming just eight years ago in Brazil, when they stunned the football world by thrashing the hosts 7-1 in the semi-finals.

However, Germany's proud record at major tournaments has taken a knock in recent years. Joachim Low's side travelled to Russia in 2018 as the reigning champions but were humbled by Mexico and South Korea on their way to an embarrassing group-stage exit.

Germany fared better at Euro 2020, getting out of a tricky group that also contained Portugal and France, but still fell short of their lofty expectations when being knocked out in the last 16 by England.

Those back-to-back failures finally brought an end to Low's 15-year tenure, meaning Germany will be going into a major tournament without the 62-year-old at the helm for the first time since the 2006 World Cup.

This did not appear to be a cause for concern, though. Low's successes earlier in his reign had allowed him to cling onto his position for a couple of tournaments too many, and his replacement - Bayern Munich's treble-winning manager Hansi Flick - brought a breath of fresh air to the national team.

However, after guiding Germany to wins from his first eight games in charge, Flick - who spent eight years as Low's assistant and was part of the staff that masterminded the 2014 World Cup win - has just one win in the last seven matches he has overseen.

What's more, even the most optimistic fan of Die Mannschaft will likely admit to being unnerved when they were drawn in the same group as Spain for this winter's tournament.

For a side accustomed to reaching finals on a fairly regular basis, Germany have a surprisingly poor record against Spain, having beaten them just once in their last seven encounters.

Three of the most painful defeats of the long Low era came at the hands of Spain - 1-0 reverses in the Euro 2008 final and 2010 World Cup semi-finals, plus a 6-0 thrashing in Seville in the two sides' last encounter two years ago.

While Germany should remain confident of advancing from a group that also contains Costa Rica and Japan, Spain's lurking presence lessens the room for error for Flick as he looks to restore the national team's reputation as major tournament masters.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Defenders: Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Antonio Ruediger (Real Madrid), Niklas Suele (Borussia Dortmund), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Lukas Klostermann, Armel Bella Kotchap (Southampton), Christian Guenter (Freiburg)

Midfielders: Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Monchengladbach), Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Mueller (all Bayern Munich), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Mario Goetze (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Strikers: Kai Havertz (Chelsea), Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund), Niklas Fuellkrug (Werder Bremen), Karim Adeyemi Borussia Dortmund)