FIFA World Cup
World Cup 2018: Germany vs Sweden Preview
Germany faces Sweden in an absolutely must-win match for the Germans at Fisht Olympic Stadium 2 pm ET on Saturday. The stadium, originally built for the 2014 Winter Olympics, hosts a record 37th meeting between the two nations. It’s the most meetings between any two countries and a victory for ‘The Blue-Yellow’ would almost assure qualification to the knockout round.
Background
Much to everyone’s surprise, Germany fell 1-0 to Mexico in their first game incidentally making Group F more interesting. In hindsight, the German’s opening loss was only a continuation of bad results leading up to the World Cup Finals. As a matter of fact, ‘Die Mannschaft’ had only achieved one victory in their past six games before arriving in Russia. The defending champions will need to make a statement against Sweden and prove they are not suffering from the infamous ‘Champions Curse’. With several key players coming under criticism after the defeat to Mexico, head coach Joachim Löw is expected to adjust his lineup.
The Swedes sit atop Group F along with Mexico after defeating South Korea on matchday one. Equally important, this is the Scandinavian’s first appearance at the World Cup Finals since 2006. Depending on the Mexico – South Korea result, Sweden can eliminate Germany from the tournament with a win on Saturday. Easily the better side in the first game against their Asian opponents, Andreas Granqvist buried a VAR-awarded penalty to defeat the ‘Taeguk Warriors’. The Swedish captain and defender will have to come up big again, although, this time in defense against a German attack on a mission.
Predicted Lineups
Germany: Manuel Neuer; Joshua Kimmich, Jerome Boateng, Nicklas Sule, Jonas Hector; Ilkay Gundogan, Toni Kroos; Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Marco Reus; Mario Gomez
Sweden: Robin Olsen; Mikael Lustig, Viktor Lindelof, Andreas Granqvist, Ludwig Augustinsson; Viktor Claesson, Sebastian Larsson, Albin Ekdal, Emil Forsberg; Marcus Berg, Ola Toivonen
Prediction
Of their numerous meetings, Germany won 15 and the Swedes 12. Comparatively, the two seem almost evenly matched based on history. However, only 4 matches have been in the World Cup and it’s there that Germany separate themselves. The current holders only lost to their European neighbors once, defeating them three times on the world’s biggest stage. It’s the German’s reputation of getting the job done when it matters that will make them favorites on Saturday.
Germany 2 – 1 Sweden
