Germany, Spain favorites to come out of 'Group of Death'

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Spain and Germany were drawn into Group E alongside Japan and Costa Rica, but both European giants should be favored to come out of the “Group of Death.”

Germany and Spain came into the tournament with impressive form in the qualifiers, tasting only one defeat.

Spain -- one of the most present teams at the World Cup finals, with 16 appearances out of the 21 tournaments -- has not missed a final event since 1974.

The defender and midfielder positions of the team at previous summer World Cup events had clinched the 2010 World Cup and two Euros in 2008 and 2012.

The likes of defenders Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos and midfielders Andres Iniesta and David Silva won't be available for the tournament, as they retired from the national team.

Entering this year's World Cup with names like Sergio Busquets, Rodri and Alvaro Morata, some promising stars also have the opportunity to define themselves at Luis Enrique's side like Pedri, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati.

- Spain's World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez (Brighton & Hove Albion), Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Brentford)

Defenders: Pau Torres (Villarreal), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Eric Garcia (Barcelona), Jose Gaya (Valencia), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Hugo Guillamon (Valencia)

Midfielders: Rodri (Manchester City), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Pedri (Barcelona), Gavi (Barcelona), Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Soler (Paris Saint-Germain), Koke (Atletico Madrid)

Forwards: Dani Olmo (Leipzig), Ansu Fati (Barcelona), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Yeremy Pino (Villarreal), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Pablo Sarabia (Paris Saint-Germain), Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid)

- Germany

Germany managed to qualify for the World Cup after leading their European qualifiers group, having 27 points after 10 matches, nine points ahead of second-place North Macedonia.

"Die Mannschaft" is one of the most successful national teams in tournament history, clinching the coveted title four times before in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014.

They have been to 19 of the 21 events, finished runners-up four times, and reached at least the semi-finals in all editions between 2002 and 2014.

The team is targeting the 2022 trophy with many well-known stars such as Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane.

But Germany will be without Borussia Dortmund duo Mats Hummels and Marco Reus.

Hummels has not been included in the German squad and Reus has been sidelined with an ankle injury over the last two months.

- Germany's World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Defenders: Armel Bella-Kotchap (Southampton), Matthias Ginter, Christian Gunter (Freiburg), Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United), Lukas Klostermann, David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Sule (Borussia Dortmund)

Attackers: Karim Adeyemi, Julian Brandt, Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund), Niclas Fullkrug (Werder Bremen), Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Jamal Musiala, Joschua Kimmich, Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Mario Gotze (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Kai Havertz (Chelsea), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Monchengladbach)

- Japan

Japan, winners of a record four Asian Cups, will make a play in their seventh-consecutive World Cup finals.

The Samurai Blue came to Qatar 2022 with a second-place finish, one point behind leaders Saudi Arabia, collecting 22 points.

The Japanese team has six players in their team from their top-tier league, the J1 League. The rest of the squad is composed of footballers from the big five European leagues.

Arsenal's Takehiro Tomiyasu, Monaco's Takumi Minamino and Celtic's Daizen Maeda are all members of the 26-man squad.

- Costa Rica

This will be the sixth time in World Cup history for the Latin America team.

Costa Rica, a country in Central America, completed a 32-nation World Cup lineup by defeating New Zealand, the Oceania qualifying winner, with a narrow win in an intercontinental playoff.

The Ticos made their debut in the World Cup in 1990, advancing to the last 16.

However, Costa Rica did their best in the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Joel Campbell and Keylor Navas will be Costa Rica's trump cards.

- Group E schedule

Nov. 23:

Germany - Japan

Spain - Costa Rica

Nov. 27:

Japan - Costa Rica

Spain - Germany

Dec. 1:

Japan - Spain

Costa Rica - Germany