Berlin, Nov 22: Germany’s opening World Cup game against Japan will set the tone for the rest of the tournament – both for the team and the fans who may or may not be watching at home.
Germany’s buildup to Wednesday’s game has been fraught by fan protests, political statements, calls for a boycott and underwhelming performances from a team still trying to rediscover its spark following a surprising group-stage exit as defending champion in 2018.
It was the first time the four-time champions were ever knocked out of the competition in the group stage.
A convincing performance in what will be Germany’s 110th World Cup match could erase those lingering doubts, galvanize the team and maybe even coax some of the fans boycotting the tournament because of Qatar’s human rights record to switch their TVs back on for the remaining games.
Germany will follow against Spain on Sunday, then face Costa Rica for its final game in Group E on Dec. 1.
Japan is bidding to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in its seventh straight World Cup appearance.
“We want to get to the round of 16 and we would like to go further,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said Tuesday.
Germany’s players should be familiar to Moriyasu’s, with seven members of his squad playing club football in the Bundesliga and another in Germany’s second division.
Germany will be without Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sané, who is out with a knee problem. Nineteen-year-old Bayern midfielder Jamal Musiala is likely to take his place.
Germany looked far from convincing against Oman in its final warmup game, a 1-0 win on Niclas Füllkrug’s goal in his debut that highlighted the defensive problems the team has had. Germany had won only one of its previous seven games.
Match will kick-off at 6:30 pm IST. (AP)
