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Source Wikipedia. Creative Commons. |
The World Cup in Brazil is over. While the celebrations are still going on, it is time for Germany to start the next mission; defending the title. Some of the cup winning team from 2014 are well past their peak and are unlikely still to play in the NT 2018. We publish a list of players we think will take the places.
Goalkeeper
We do not have an aging curve yet for goal keepers, so the list of best German goalkeepers in 2018 equals the list of best German goalkeepers today. Hence no surprises, one might think. But we think that maybe not many have Ferdinand Oswald on their list of top keepers.
| Player | Current Team | Age@2018 | GI@2018 | PeakGI |
| Manuel Neuer | Bayern München | 32.3 | 169.6 | 169.6 |
| Roman Weidenfeller | Borussia Dortmund | 37.9 | 128.7 | 128.7 |
| Ferdinand Oswald | FC Schalke 04 II | 27.8 | 125.0 | 125.0 |
Defenders
Only three defenders of the 2014 World Champions are expected to play 2018, too. But Lahm, Hummels and Boateng are not just any three, they were also the backbone of the team's strong defensive performance. Benedikt Höwedes is not on the list, but he wasn't on GIs 2014 list either.
| Player | Team | Age@2018 | GI@2018 | PeakGI |
| Philipp Lahm | Bayern München | 34.7 | 156.4 | 195.85 |
| Mats Hummels | Borussia Dortmund | 29.5 | 150.8 | 156.57 |
| Jérôme Boateng | Bayern München | 29.8 | 144.0 | 149.97 |
| Benno Schmitz | Red Bull Salzburg | 23.6 | 136.0 | 144.06 |
| Marcel Schmelzer | Borussia Dortmund | 30.4 | 135.6 | 145.23 |
| Vladimir Rankovic | Hannover 96 | 25.0 | 134.3 | 137.45 |
| Moritz Sprenger | VfL Wolfsburg U19 | 23.3 | 133.2 | 142.38 |
| Robin Knoche | VfL Wolfsburg | 26.1 | 133.1 | 133.33 |
Midfielders
Özil, Schweinsteiger, Kroos and Draxler sound familiar. The other names not so much. Strong midfielders are leaving the German football education center. Some already play Bundesliga, some are expected to do so soon.
| Player | Team | Age@2018 | GI@2018 | PeakGI |
| Mesut Özil | Arsenal FC | 29.7 | 159.1 | 164.99 |
| Bastian Schweinsteiger | Bayern München | 33.9 | 156.5 | 188.78 |
| Julian Brandt | Bayer Leverkusen | 22.2 | 142.2 | 156.48 |
| Matthias Öttl | Austria Salzburg | 26.4 | 141.1 | 142.02 |
| Toni Kroos | Bayern München | 28.5 | 139.5 | 144.49 |
| Julian Draxler | FC Schalke 04 | 24.8 | 137.7 | 141.63 |
| Max Meyer | FC Schalke 04 | 22.8 | 137.0 | 148.73 |
| Federico Palacios-Martinez | RB Leipzig | 23.3 | 135.4 | 144.96 |
| Marvin Friedrich | FC Schalke 04 U19 | 22.6 | 134.1 | 146.57 |
| Maximilian Arnold | VfL Wolfsburg | 24.1 | 133.8 | 139.82 |
| Morris Schröter | 1. FC Magdeburg | 22.8 | 133.6 | 144.94 |
Forwards
We expect Müller, Götze and Schürrle to be playing four years later their next World Cup along with some new names. Lasogga was already 2014 on Löw's scouting list, but he didn't make the cut.
| Player | Team | Age@2018 | GI@2018 | PeakGI |
| Thomas Müller | Bayern München | 28.8 | 171.8 | 177.05 |
| Mario Götze | Bayern München | 26.1 | 161.5 | 161.71 |
| Kevin Scheidhauer | VfL Wolfsburg II | 26.4 | 139.5 | 140.45 |
| Patrick Weihrauch | Bayern München II | 24.3 | 129.0 | 134.23 |
| Pierre-Michel Lasogga | Hamburger SV | 26.6 | 128.1 | 129.48 |
| André Schürrle | Chelsea FC | 27.7 | 128.0 | 131.88 |
Summary
To name the players that will play in a tournament in four years time is a terribly tough job. Still we gave a shot and selected 28 players that from today's perspective have some chances. We are curious to hear your thoughts on this. We will have a look at this list every now and then to see how the players developed.
