Germany
Qualified: Winners of European Qualification Group 4
Best World Cup finish: Winners: 1954, 1974 (as West Germany), 1990.
FIFA Ranking: 6
Odds for 2010: 14/1
Germany cruised into their 15th consecutive World Cup finals with an unbeaten qualification campaign that was clinched with an impressive one-nil victory over Russia in Moscow.
Dropping just two points in the whole campaign, the Germans had the two highest scorers in their group with Miroslav Klose’s seven goals just edging him ahead of frontline partner Lukas Podolski who notched six.
So the Germans, perhaps inspired by Bayern Munich’s impressive run to the Champions League final, marched into South Africa with a spring in their step, confident of at least a semi-final finish.
However, their optimism was surely rocked with the news that Captain Michael Ballack will miss the tournament courtesy of an injury picked up in the FA Cup final thanks to a tackle from Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boatang – suffice to say it didn’t take long for the conspiracy theorists to clear their throats. (more…)
