Germany Team - 2014 World Cup Betting
Best Finish: Won in 1954, 1974 and 1990
Manager: Joachim Loew
Captain: Philipp Lahm
Key Player: Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Group G: With Ghana, Portugal and USA
Few teams in the world can boast of the World Cup success that Germany has. "Die Mannschaft" has won three titles and made seven World Cup Final appearances in their history. Moreover, they've made it to the semifinals 12 different times, which is a record.
Once again, Germany is a threat to add to their storied World Cup resume. This team ripped through most of their UEFA Group C competition, outscoring opponents by a 26-goal margin and racking up an undefeated 9-1-0 (W-D-L) record. The lone blemish during qualifying matches was a 4-4 tie against Sweden. There's no shame in tying Sweden since they're a good team. However, the way that Germany did it – letting the Swedes score the final four goals of the match – was a letdown to say the least. This is nothing worth dwelling on, though, when you consider how well they fared in a tough group that included Ireland and Austria too.
The talent pool that Germany had to pick from when assembling their 30-player roster is amazing. Joachim Loew did a nice job of picking both young talent and skilled veterans that should lead this team deep in the tournament. Some of the veterans who'll shine for Germany include Mesut Ozil, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller.
The latter will be an especially important cog in Germany's attack. Muller can play anywhere upfront and is an excellent passer. However, one shouldn't overlook his goal-scoring ability either since Muller contributed four goals during the 10 UEFA qualifying matches. Mesut Ozil is a player whom Muller will look to find near the goal quite frequently. Ozil led Germany during the qualification period with a very impressive eight scores.
It would be easy to go on and on about Germany's roster because there are so many good players on it. That said, this team is quite deserving of their second-place FIFA ranking (behind Spain) and is favored by some to win the 2014 World Cup. But before this happens, they'll have to get out of Group G, which boasts fellow powerhouse Portugal, and solid USA and Ghana teams.