The old saying is that you ‘should never write off the Germans’ when it comes to football. This is a truism if ever there was one as this nation possesses a severe winning mentality which has enabled less talented German sides to far exceed expectations. They have won the World Cup on three occasions as West Germany, but since their reunification with East Germany they have failed to become world champions.
West Germany became champions for the first time in 1954. They were annihilated 8-3 by the ‘Magnificent Magyars’ of Hungary in the group stages but shocked the Puskas led side in the final. West Germany fell two goals behind within minutes and another hiding looked on the cards. However, they recovered to win 3-2 in what was known as ‘The Miracle of Bern’. In 1974, they won the tournament as the host nation, defeating Holland and their ‘total football’ 2-1 in the final. The 1990 World Cup is not remembered fondly due to the sterile nature of many of the matches. West Germany managed to overcome this winning the final 1-0 against an Argentine side that looked intent on playing for penalty kicks from the first whistle. They once again hosted the tournament in 2006 but were considered to be a poor side, much like the 2002 side that made the final. Backed by a passionate German crowd, they made it all the way to the semi finals before having their hearts broken by a last minute goal in extra time against Italy. Another goal followed moments later as they exited 2-0. They gained some consolation with a 3-1 win over Portugal to finish third.
Qualification for the World Cup this time around saw them pitted against a tough Russian side. The two countries went neck and neck with Finland also providing tough resistance, indeed Germany could only manage two draws against the Finns. Germany traveled to Moscow knowing that they would have to become the first team in history to beat Russia there in a World Cup qualifier to get through to South Africa. This they achieved with a historic 1-0 victory.
Germany have been drawn in the competitive Group D containing Australia, Serbia and Ghana. They will be expected to make their way through this group however with their vast tournament experience. Players like Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Michael Ballack will add some steel to the German outfit and they will be hoping for another big tournament from strikers Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski. Yet again, Germany’s squad is not considered to be up to much, yet they are still a genuine threat and likely to be involved in the latter stages.