Japan vs Germany
November 22, 2022 8:00 am EDT
The Line: Germany -220 / Japan +600 // Total: 2.5
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Germany and Japan face off on Wednesday in their first World Cup game in a Group E soccer showdown at Khalifa International Stadium.
Germany won the World Cup back in 2014, but there is a lot of pressure on them now after the way they looked in 2018. Germany really struggled and couldn’t even make it out of the group stage. Coming into this game, there is a lot of concern about this German team because of how they have looked in their recent games. This is a team that just a few months ago failed to score any goals against Hungary. In their last lead up to the World Cup, Germany was able to beat Oman 1-0. Germany had 72 percent of the possession and seven shots on target, but it really looked like they should have scored more than a goal. Marco Reus always seems to get injured at the wrong time, and it happened again. Reus is dealing with an ankle injury and is now out. Leroy Sané is also dealing with a knee injury and will be held out of this game.
On the other side of this matchup is Japan, who has high expectations for this World Cup, and a win here would open up a ton of eyes. Over the last three games, Japan has one win, one loss, and one draw. Last Thursday they faced off against Canada and the defense gave up two goals on the way to the loss. Yuki Soma opened up the scoring in the 9th minute, and they looked to be in good shape. The defense gave up goals in the 21st and 95th minutes. Japan had 45 percent of the possession and two shots on target. Karou Mitoma and Wataru Endo look to be fully healthy and are expected to play in this game. Hidemasa Morita is dealing with a calf injury, and although he was able to practice on Monday, there are still questions if they will be able to go in this game.
Not having Sane is a loss for this team, but this Germany team is otherwise healthy, and they have the offense to find success in this game. Japan also has solid attackers, and they should be able to find a few holes in the German defense. Look for both teams to score a couple of goals, and this game is going to be higher-scoring. Back the over 3.5 goals to cash here.
