Group F Preview: In the end, the Germans win?

In Group F we find the defending champions Germany. They will face Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.

Germany: Let's talk about the World Cup winners first. I don't think there will ever be a tournament where the German national team isn't considered one of the favorites, and this World Cup is no exception. It's nothing more than logical either. Germany has a strong team and so much talent to choose from. I could give a list of world class German players, but then I could almost list the whole selection. The World Cup winning team is hardly changed, besides the retired Lahm and Schweinsteiger, who are replaced in the starting eleven by Kimmich and Khedira. Marco Reus, who is not injured for once, provides an extra boost of quality. Germany won the Confederations Cup with their B-squad last year, which shows that they have also strength in the depth of their squad. Players like Goretzka and Werner played themselves in the spotlights on that tournament and are part of the 23 this year as well. Surprisingly in the selection and also not at all is Manuel Neuer, who was injured since September and missed out on the whole season. Of course Neuer is still one of the best if not the best goalkeeper in the world, but it will still be a blow for Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who is also way too good to be second choice. Luxury problems... A selection choice of coach Löw that is surprising to everyone however is the non-inclusion of Leroy Sané, the young star form Manchester City and one of the outstanding players in their record-breaking season. He is left out for Julian Brandt, another promising talent who plays for Leverkusen. Germany will go in the tournament with high expectations as defending champions, but it will be a tough challenge to extend their title for four more years. Recent World Cup history learns that defending champions struggle in their next tournament: in 2002, 2010 and 2014, the defending champions were eliminated in the group stage. Their preparation games were the opposite of convincing: a 2-1 defeat against neighbor Austria, and a narrow 2-1 victory against Saudi-Arabia. I do not foresee a similar fate for Germany as what happened to Spain in 2014. They have everything it takes to make it to the very end, but they are not my number one candidate this year.

Prediction: Final

Mexico: The absolute certainty from the CONCACAF zone at World Cups and usually the best performing team from there as well. They needed play-offs to reach the 2014 World Cup, but this campaign went much smoother. Topping their qualification group, they qualified with three games remaining. They might get some pleasure out of the absence of their big rivals USA. A team that is probably the most consistent team in the world when it comes to their performances in the World Cup: since the World Cup of 1994, they have made it to the round of 16 every single time. But they also have never made it past that round, a remarkable statistic. This means that Mexico is better than the average teams, but lacks the quality to beat the top nations. They clearly set in on experience in their squad: players like Javier Hernandez, Guardado, Ochoa and the Dos Santos brothers all played multiple World Cups and other international tournaments. Irving Lozano of PSV Eindhoven is one of the young players scouts from the big teams will keep an eye on. In a group with Germany and Brazil waiting on the other side of the table, Mexico will probably settle for repeating their recent World Cup performances, but there might be secret dreams of reaching the quarter finals or more. They will certainly want to go head-to-head with Germany on their opening encounter, to who they lost 4-1 in the semi-final of the Confederations Cup. But they can better not forget to keep an eye on Sweden as well. It's a safe bet to say Mexico will make it to the round of 16, so that's where I am going with them.

Prediction: Round of 16

Sweden: After missing out on the last two World Cups, the Swedes are present on the highest level again. In the nineties and the beginning of this century, Sweden were often a tough opponent for the big nations, but they never made it further than occasionally getting through the group stage at major tournaments (once semi-finalists in 1994). Some poor results in the last years have made their status in European football drop a little bit. Zlatan Ibrahomivic will not play at this World Cup. The coach made the decision after some rumors came to life that he would come back from his international retirement to play one more World Cup, which he couldn't play in since 2006. While Zlatan is undoubtedly the best Swedish player of all time and it is unlikely that there will ever be a better one, his absence in the national team doesn't seem to affect them negatively. In fact, one might even dare to say that Sweden has even improved without their (literally and figuratively speaking) big man. The result that stood out in their qualification was the 2-1 victory against France, thanks to a spectacular injury time-winner by Toivonen. That win and the 8-0 victory against Luxemburg made the difference with the Nederlands in the end. Without Ibrahimovc, Emil Forsberg is their star player. The right winger is one of the key players of Bundesliga-revelation RB Leipzig. Players like Granqvist, Toivonen, Berg and Lustig are from the older generation that has played multiple tournaments and has to guide the younger players like Forsberg. South Korea should be a beatable opponent for them, and while they can make life difficult for Germany and Mexico, they will need to have an outstanding form to actually beat them. Their last match against Mexico will probably be decisive.

Prediction: Group Stage

South Korea: One of the regular contenders from the Asian confederation. Since qualifying for the first time in 1986, they have not missed a single World Cup. Although they rarely manage to progress to the second round, they are the most successful Asian country. Their absolute highlight was reaching the semi-final in 2002, when they hosted the tournament together with Japan, the best result for an Asian country and a record that might stand for a long time. In that tournament, they broke another unintended record that will be hard to break: conceding the fastest goal. In the match for third place against Turkey, Turkey striker Hakan Sükür scored after only 11 seconds. Their qualification campaign wasn't without problems: they had to wait until the final match to qualify. A goalless draw against Uzbekistan proved to be enough, but they were 7 points behind group winners Iran. The selection will give commentators nightmares: 5 players have the name Kim and three players the name Lee. Try to tell those apart. Studying the full names and shirt numbers by heart is essential. Their selection doesn't give too many hope for a repetition of their 2002 stunt as well. Only 4 players play outside of Asia, and that is normally not a good sign. Most players play in the Korean League. Their superstar is without a doubt Heung Min-Son, class player for Tottenham Hotspur. For those who watched a lot of Europa League games this year, the name Hwang Hee-Chan will ring a bell.The young striker made a name for himself by revelation RB Salzburg. Getting through the group stage would be a huge success for them, but it is to be expected that Germany, Mexico and probably Sweden as well will be too strong.

Prediction: Group Stage