Group A -- Germany

Germany, only 2nd to Brazil in terms of World Cup achievements, boasting a record 3 victories, 4 runners-up, 3 semi finals appearance and at least a quarter final finish ever since the World Cup was started. They had also participated in every other World Cup except for the first edition which they were not invited to make the journey across the continent to faraway Uruguay and the 1950 World Cup where they were just recovering from the war.

Boasting such a rich tradition, it had therefore been considered an embarassment where they exited at the quarter final stage in 94 and 98 to Bulgaria and Croatia respectively, the supposedly lesser teams. But the team won back some admirers with their fighting spirit and discipline too reach the finals in 2002 where they were unlucky to lose to Brazil in a match where they were more than a match for their opponents. It was only a mistake by their goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn, who had been superb throughout the tournament till then, that allowed a rejuvenated Ronaldo to sneak in the opening goal.

Under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Germany had been through a roller coaster ride. Ditching the so-called boring old Germany, Klinsmann had seen the transformation of Germany into an exciting and vibrant side with a maturing Michael Ballack helming the midfield and Sebastian Diesler & Bastian Schweinsteiger creating havoc for the opponents. Sadly though, gone are also the days of their famed defence. With Christoph Metzelder plagued by injuries, Klinsmann is still trying to search for a reliable steady centre defensive partnership. And the erractic form of both Jens Lehmann and Oliver Kahn will not help his cause either. Furthermore, they also have to deal with the curse that had been inflicted on the left back position. Tobias Rau and Philip Lahm are both out with long term injury and experments with Bernd Schenieder and Thomas Hitzelperger had yielded distastrous results. Up front, the rebirth of Miroslav Klose and Kevin Kuranyi and the blossoming of young striker Ludovic Podolski had certainly raised the country’s hope for a successsful 4th victory.