Germany vs. Japan: Top Storylines, Odds, Live Stream for World Cup 2022
Germany returns to the World Cup stage on Wednesday in search of a much better finish in Qatar than it had four years ago in Russia.
Die Mannschaft crashed out of the group stage in 2018 after winning the title four years earlier in Brazil.
Germany is back with a new manager in Hansi Flick and a younger core that has plenty of familiarity playing with each other.
The bulk of the German squad comes from Bundesliga titans Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Their first challenge in Group E comes against Japan, which is looking to reach the round of 16 for the second straight World Cup.
The Samurai Blue have alternated between group-stage exits and round-of-16 defeats in the last six World Cups.
Every point in Group E will be valuable since Spain and Costa Rica are the other two squads in the four-team section.
Game Odds and Info
Odds
Germany (-220; bet $220 to win $100)
Japan (+600; bet $100 to win $600)
Draw (+380)
Over 2.5 Goals (-150); Under 2.5 Goals (+130)
Match Info
Date: Wednesday, 23 November
Start Time: 8 a.m. ET
TV: FS1
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and Fox Sports app
Germany Starts Redemption Tour
Germany's World Cup redemption tour begins inside the Khalifa International Stadium.
Die Mannschaft were not only knocked out in the group stage in 2018, but they also finished last behind Sweden, Mexico and South Korea.
Germany lost to Mexico in its opening game, defeated Sweden and then crashed out with a loss to South Korea in the group finale.
As always, the German roster is loaded with the top talent in the world. Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané and Kai Havertz will shoulder the load in attack. They have more responsibility in Qatar after Timo Werner went down with an injury weeks before the tournament.
The midfield depth is there for Hansi Flick's side, with Ilkay Gundogan, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in place. Bayern Munich starlet Jamal Musiala, 19, is also a candidate to start in the middle of the park.
Perhaps Germany's biggest concern is its defense. The back line produced a clean sheet in a pre-World Cup friendly against Oman, but it was the team's first since March.
The Germans conceded six goals in their three games before the Oman friendly, allowing three goals to England, two to Italy and one to Hungary.
If Germany cleans up its defense, it should go on a deep run in Qatar.
Japan Looking to Play Spoiler
Japan's goal in Qatar should be to beat Costa Rica and steal points off Spain and Germany.
The Samurai Blue have a strong group of players who ply their trade in the big five leagues in Europe.
Arsenal's Takehiro Tomiyasu leads the defense, Monaco's Takumi Minamino has the most international goals on the World Cup roster, and Daichi Kamada has been a major part of Eintracht Frankfurt's success in the Bundesliga and UEFA Europa League.
Kamada and Minamino are among the players who could pose threats to the German defense.
The one concern for the Asian side is that two players on the roster have more than 10 international goals, and one of them is defender Maya Yoshida.
Japan should try to get a point or more out of a low-scoring game. It held South Korea, the United States and Ecuador to clean sheets in three of its last four matches before leaving for Qatar.
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