Editor's note: At 0:00 Beijing time on November 21, the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar will usher in the opening match. On the occasion of the countdown to the Qatar World Cup, Jiefang Daily Shangguan News City Affairs Channel and the School of Journalism and Communication of Shanghai University of Sport jointly launched the column "Approaching the Qatar World Cup", approaching the World Cup held for the first time in the Middle East and the Arab region, appreciating the unique charm of the football feast held for the first time in the northern hemisphere winter, and observing how the smallest World Cup host country in history finally handed over the answer.
At 0:00 Beijing time on November 21, the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar will kick off at the Gulf Stadium, and fans around the world are paying more and more attention to the World Cup as a football event. European powerhouse Germany has announced its 26-man squad for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, including three goalkeepers, nine defenders and 14 midfielders.
Germany's oldest is captain Neuer, 36, and the youngest, Mukoko, who turned 18 the day before the World Cup – a huge age gap. So, what is the highlight of this German team combining old and new?
Look at the composition: the players are more local
Germany is a traditional powerhouse in world football, including the Federal Republic of Germany having won four World Cup titles, second only to "five-star Brazil", and tied for second with Italy in the number of titles. Germany last won the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, the first time in the history of a European team to win a World Cup in South America.
Many of the key players selected for Germany's team in previous World Cups are from Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich is undoubtedly the most successful club in German history, winning 32 Bundesliga titles and six Champions Leagues. In this World Cup, Germany has seven players from Bayern, accounting for 27% of the team, and coach Flick was also Bayern's meritorious manager. Borussia Dortmund also contributed five internationals to the national team, which means that the German internationals of these two Bundesliga clubs combined are 12, accounting for almost half of the entire national team.
After the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Germany's top players tried to get out of their "comfort zone" and go to the Premier League and La Liga. For the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Germany's 23-man squad was all from the Bundesliga; Germany in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups each had seven players from other leagues outside the Bundesliga; In this World Cup in Qatar, with the squad expanded from 23 to 26, the number of "overseas legions" of the German team dropped to 5, and more national team players were "made locally".
Look at the selection: there are surprises and controversies
This time the German team's squad has some young "new faces". Among them, Mukoko in Dortmund and Bellakochap in Southampton are worth watching.
Mukoko is in the national team for the first time and is the national team participating in the World Cup. He turned 18 just one day before the World Cup and has scored six goals and assisted three times in 15 Bundesliga games this season, making rapid progress and winning Flick's favor. He is also one of Germany's most famous talented players in world football in recent years. In the 2018-2019 season, Mukoko played for the Borussia Dortmund Under-17 team at the age of 13, scoring 50 goals in 28 Under-17 matches.
Centre-back Bellakochap has just made his name for himself, coming out of the Bochum academy, only to play his first Bundesliga with his promotion a year ago, before moving to Southampton for 10 million euros to become an absolute workhorse. Southampton are currently in the bottom three of the Premier League in the relegation zone, and his performance is not mature enough. His second World Cup appearance, his first World Cup, caused some controversy as veteran Hummels, who was in the same position, performed well this season but failed to be selected.
Hummels was the absolute main centre-back for Germany's victory at the 2014 World Cup. Despite being 33 years old and past his peak physical condition and athletic prowess, his defensive awareness and experience are a valuable asset for the German team. In the first seven rounds of the Bundesliga season, Hummels conceded only one goal in the 512 minutes that Hummels was present, while Borussia Dortmund conceded six goals in the 118 minutes he was absent.
In addition, the selection of central midfielder Götze is also not convincing. In the 2014 World Cup final, Goetze was a hero for Germany, coming off the bench to score in extra time to help Germany beat Argentina 1-0 to win the Hercules Cup, but after 2016, Goetze was diagnosed with a strange metabolic disorder, which greatly affected the career development of the former golden boy. This summer, Goetze finally returned to the Bundesliga to join Eintracht Frankfurt. Perhaps coach Flick wants to see him as a "mascot" and a "surprise soldier", praying to repeat the killer moment of 8 years ago at a critical moment.
Watch the stars: M Moser two old and new
One of the most well-known stars of the German team in this World Cup is Thomas Müller, and another young player Musiara is Germany's most expensive player. Both players are from Bayern Munich and will be key figures in the German team at the World Cup in Qatar.
In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the 20-year-old Muller became famous in a battle and won the Golden Boot. Four years later, at the World Cup in Brazil, he scored five goals and won the silver boot, and won the final title with Germany. Müller is a legendary member of the German team, having made 118 appearances for the German national team, ranking fifth in history behind Matthäus, Klose, Podolski and Schweinsteiger. Müller scored 44 goals and assisted 40 times for Germany, ranking 7th on Germany's all-time goalscorer's list. At club level, he has been playing for Bayern Munich since his debut and is now one of only a few players in world football to score and assist the "Double 200+".
Musiara is only 19 years old, his father is of mixed English and Nigerian descent and his mother is German. He came from the Premier League Chelsea youth team and only came to Germany in 2019 to join Bayern Munich Under-17s. After much deliberation, he chose to play for his mother's native Germany. In March 2021, Musiala made his international debut at the age of 18 years and 27 days. This season, Musiala has grown rapidly, scoring nine goals and four assists in 13 Bundesliga games, averaging one goal per game. On November 9 this year, according to the authoritative data website German transfer market, Musiara's value has reached 100 million euros, and he has become the first German player in history to reach a nine-figure value.
In this World Cup, Germany is in Group E with Spain, Japan and Costa Rica. Four years ago in Russia, Germany was surprised by the last defeat to South Korea at the bottom of the group. Now that the German team has been dormant for four years, and the manager has been replaced by Loew to Flick, the group qualification should be the minimum goal.
(The author is a video football commentator for the Migu World Cup in Qatar)
Column editor-in-chief: Chen Hua Text editor: Chen Hua Source of title picture: Xinhua News Agency
文内插图：新华社 Source: Author: Tu Yuan