Spain vs Germany prediction: WORLD: World Cup betting tips on match 2022-11-26 19:00.
After a 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica on Wednesday marked Spain’s biggest-ever World Cup victory and the first time they’ve won their opening game in the competition since 2006, Luis Enrique’s side now face Germany in Group E’s blockbuster tie. The Spanish coach's endeavours haven’t gone unnoticed either, with Manchester United reportedly the latest vying for his signature.
He’ll be staying put for now though, and Spain’s rampant victory in their Group E opener will have fans believing that they can avenge their disappointing Round of 16 exit in 2018. Particularly as they’ve appeared to quashed murmurs that a lack of goals would be their undoing in Qatar, having already scored only one less (seven) in this tournament than they did during their triumphant 2010 World Cup winning campaign (eight)!
Spain’s free-scoring nature appears ominous for a Germany side who were stunned 2-1 by Japan in their opener, especially as Spain trounced them 6-0 the last time they met – their heaviest defeat since 1931! That result appeared to expedite long-serving German coach Joachim Löw’s exit last year, but current boss Hansi Flick, who was previously Löw’s assistant, now needs to steady the ship and avoid a repeat of Germany’s shock group-stage exit in 2018. Failure to win here could even see ‘Die Mannschaft’ out before game three, if Japan beat Costa Rica earlier in the day.
The unpredictability of a side who dominated World Cup qualifying (W9, L1), before failing to impress in the Nations League (W1, D4, L1) was laid bare in Germany’s defeat to Japan. That was the first time they’d lost a World Cup match after leading at half-time since 1978, though their tally of 3.3 expected goals (xG) was the highest ever recorded (since 1966) for a losing side in a World Cup contest, meaning German goals could be just around the corner!
Players to watch: All eyes will be on the wonderkids here and Spanish midfielder Gavi became the youngest World Cup goalscorer since Pele in 1958 after his strike against Costa Rica. He’ll be fighting for the limelight with German prodigy Jamal Musiala, who’s looking to transfer his domestic form to the biggest stage after making the fifth-most goal involvements in Europe’s top five leagues (16) this campaign.
Hot stat: Spain limited Costa Rica to zero shots last time out, in what was just the second occasion this has happened in a World Cup match since 1966 after Costa Rica themselves in 1990!
World Cup trivia: Miroslav Klose holds the record for the most World Cup goals with a total of 16 for Germany over four tournament appearances (2002-2014).