LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 29: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his sides fourth goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Huddersfield Town at Emirates Stadium on November 29, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

World Cup 2018: Group F teams, fixtures and kick-off times

It will take a very brave individual to bet against Germany adding a fifth World Cup title when they get their defence campaign underway against Mexico on Sunday, 17 June 2018.

by Tammy Patterson

17-05-2018 18:10

in Sport

Defending champions Germany are favourites to emerge from Group F but like most of the groups, it’s the race for second that has everyone speculating. Will Mexico, Sweden or South Korea accompany Germany into the next round?

Germany’s build-up has been marred by uncertainty as to the fitness of first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. The 32-year-old Bayern Munich man has been on the sidelines since suffering a fractured foot in September.

“I do not think it’s imaginable that I go into such a tournament without match practice,” Neuer admitted last week. His natural replacement is the excellent Marc-Andre ter Stegen of Barcelona.

Low has a core of the team that won the 2014 title, and can also call on the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Timo Werner. Marco Reus will hope to be fit this time too.

After winning all their qualifiers, Germany have failed to win recent friendlies against England, France, Spain and Brazil. Nevertheless, they are the world’s top-ranked side and almost always deliver at the World Cup.

Joachim Löw’s provisional squad:

Here it is! 📋 The provisional #DieMannschaft squad for the 2018 #WorldCup! 🇩🇪🏆 #ZSMMN pic.twitter.com/7HxNQaeU8s

— germanfootball_dfb (@DFB_Team_EN) May 15, 2018

World Cup 2018: Manuel Neuer makes Germany’s World Cup squad despite injury

After winning their fourth title at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Germany are tied with Italy as the second most successful team on the planet with only five-time champions Brazil ahead of them.

Germany’s first win came in Switzerland in 1954 followed by further victories in 1974 and 1990. They have also finished runners-up on four occasions.

Group F’s composition had Low deep in thought when the groups were revealed last December. The German coach, who had his contract extended until 2022, took to Twitter almost immediately:

“It’s a very interesting group. Our aim is to lay the foundations for our title defence.”

The Germans had a dream run in qualification for the World Cup, winning all 10 games and averaging 4.3 goals per game.

Such is the depth of this German outfit that if anything should cause a problem, it’s picking the actual team. The fact that Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos were all left out indicates just how super strong the Germans are.

Looking at the current squad, all eyes will be on Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) & Timo Werner (RB Leipzig).

Boateng plays an instrumental role in the German defence and is known for not allowing much past him while Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, Germany’s Player-of-the-Year for five out of the last seven years, is the king of assists.

Mueller only needs seven more goals to become Germany’s top scorer at the World Cup finals.

After their former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic recently ended speculation that he might play at the World Cup in Russia, Sweden coach Janne Andersson named a squad short on household names but big on team spirit on Tuesday.

2018 World Cup: No Zlatan in Sweden’s squad

There were no shocks as the 55-year-old coach kept faith with the players who qualified for Russia.

The lack of star power hasn’t fazed the coach whose team saw off Italy 1-0 across two legs during qualification.

I think we showed in the qualification and the playoff that we had … the same squad, and I think we did it really well. So hopefully it’s a strength in that way.

World Cup finals regulars Mexico are one of the most consistent performers having reached the Round of 16 in their last six appearances. And South Korea, led by Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min, are more than capable of going well beyond the group stages so there will be plenty of jostling come 27 June when things come to a head in Group F.

World Cup 2018: Everything you need to know about Russia’s stadiums [photos]

Fixtures:

All kick-off times are SAST.

Sunday, 17 June 2018

Germany v Mexico