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After the FIFA World Cup draw, we now know Germany will come up against Mexico, Sweden and South Korea. A tough test for the defending champions, who are expected to mount a serious challenge to become the first team to defend their title since Brazil 1962.
Therefore, it's time to take a look at the 5 reasons why Germany can we be successful in their title defence FIFA World Cup 2018.
#1 Joachim Löw's magic
Löw has taken Germany to five major tournaments since taking the job after the World Cup in 2006. In each of those competitions, Germany has reached at least the semi-finals, winning the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and finishing as runners-up to Spain at Euro 2008.
Significantly, it isn't as though Germany have had simple runs to the last four. In 2010, Löw's side knocked out England and Argentina before a semi-final exit to Spain. At Euro 2012 they topped a group containing Portugal, Denmark and the Netherlands, whilst they won another tough group with Portugal, the USA and Ghana at the World Cup 2014.
Looking at his track record you could say: if Löw is your manager, you have a 25 percent chance of winning the competition.
#2 Experience
When they do get to the last four, there's a huge amount of experience inside the German ranks. As the present holders, Die Mannschaft knows precisely what it takes to win the competition.
Germany could send out eight starters (including Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Müller, who all play together for Bayern Munich at club level) from the 2014 World Cup final for their opening game in Russia.
In addition to that, Bundesliga clubs, most notably Bayern and Dortmund, usually reach the later stages at the best level of continental football. Löw's team is therefore flooded with big-game knowledge and trophy-winning experience.
#3 Previous success with the national team
That Löw could use eight players from his 2014 World Cup final squad underlines the abundance of tournament experience within the German team.
But it's not just the World Cup winners, who have experienced success with the national team. A "trial group" lifted the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia this last summer, while the youngsters won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
Winning at major competitions is as much about managing circumstances in tight games as it is about playing glimmering football. Constantly, sides that keep their cool when hard times arise dominate the competition.
With all the success even at youth competitions, Löw's unit looks well set to mount their title defence. As Gary Lineker once said: "Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."
#4 Top to bottom strength
That experience, Löw taking a young squad to the Confederations Cup and even more youngsters prevailing at the youth championships last summer, has converted into unrivalled squad depth.
No other country has as many viable choices as Germany, who could pick no less than four separate, reasonable starting XIs for the competition.
Unfortunately for Löw, the 57-year-old strategist is just permitted to take 23 players, of which three will be goalkeepers. Choosing a balanced squad from the wealth of talent at his display is Löw's major pre-competition challenge.
For Euro 2016, he left out Marco Reus, Julian Brandt, Sebastian Rudy and Karim Bellarabi – who will pass up a major opportunity this time around?
#5 Penalty shoot-out
Last but not least, there's that old banality of never betting against the Germans when it comes to penalties. The four-time champs have been successful in their last six shoot-outs at the major competitions, dating back to the 1982 World Cup.
Regardless of whether you do figure out how to hold off Löw's side, you most likely have to beat them in 120 minutes. The penalty shoot-out lottery has been running in the Germans' favour for quite a while now and I doubt anyone will be willing to take their chances.
