Germany faces Spain in their second game of the World Cup after their shock defeat to Japan in the first game of the tournament. The two were in completely different situations when the 2022 edition started. Germany suffered one of its most unexpected losses after throwing up a lead to Japan at halftime. Spain, on the other hand, romped to their largest World Cup victory ever, scoring seven goals against Costa Rica. Here’s all you need to know about a soaring, high-stakes matchup as Germany faces the possibility of being eliminated from the group stage for the second time in a row.
Spain team news
Before their match against Costa Rica, the Spanish team had been plagued with sickness. Alvaro Morata scored Spain’s eighth goal of the day as a replacement after Alvaro Morata and Dani Carvajal both missed practice due to illness. With more than 20 minutes left in the game, Luis Enrique made all five of his permitted substitutions, resting half of his outfield starting (perhaps with Sunday in mind, though trying to second-guess Enrique is a futile exercise).
Germany team news
The only player from Hansi Flick’s team who didn’t start against Japan was Leroy Sane, who was nursing a knee injury. The wide receiver for Bayern Munich has only been able to exercise alone, and it’s unclear whether he will play this weekend.
Spain vs Germany World Cup Score prediction
The only other thing these two teams know going into this matchup is that they control the ball. Spain has had some of its best performances under Enrique against teams that try to pressure them, which has allowed La Roja to showcase both the strength of their pushing and passing.
Germany may purposefully allow Spain to win the possession fight and then try to use the plethora of quick-footed strikers at Flick’s disposal to get in behind Spain’s risk-taking strategy. This heavyweight combination may slug it out to an exciting draw in what is expected to be a fascinating match that may be much more even than their preliminary results may indicate.
Prediction: Spain 2-2 Germany
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