New talents have emerged to blend with experienced operators though, leaving hopes high for fresh threats.
Here’s all you need to know about Germany…
Coach: Hansi Flick. Won the 2014 World Cup as assistant now branching out alone.
Captain: Manuel Neuer. Now on his fourth World Cup and still absolutely vital to Germany’s chances.
Star player: Jamal Musiala. Chelsea and England’s loss is Bayern Munich and Germany’s gain as the forward has developed into the real deal.
One to watch: Youssoufa Moukoko. The Cameroon-born 17-year-old has stormed through Germany’s junior ranks and can make his senior debut in Qatar.
World ranking: 11
Odds: 10/1
Best thing about them: Exciting, agile and moving towards the right kind of rebuild.
Worst thing about them: Possibly light in defence and off-the-ball structure.
Their prospects in three words: Contenders as always.
Fixtures (all times GMT)
- November 23 vs Japan (1pm)
- November 27 vs Spain (7pm)
- December 1 vs Costa Rica (7pm)
Squad
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp.
Defenders: Matthias Ginter, Antonio Rudiger, Niklas Sule, Nico Schlotterbeck, Thilo Kehrer, David Raum, Lukas Klostermann, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Christian Gunter.
Midfielders: Ilkay Gundogan, Jonas Hofmann, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Muller, Julian Brandt, Mario Gotze.
Strikers: Kai Havertz, Youssoufa Moukoko, Niklas Fullkrug, Karim Adeyemi.
