As hosts of Euro 2024, Germany are not required to participate in the qualification process, therefore Hansi Flick's side will play only friendlies till the tournament kicks-off next summer.
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Germany will be looking to exact revenge on Japan when the two nations face off in a friendly at Volkswagen Arena on Saturday night. Die Mannschaft suffered a 2-1 defeat against the Asian outfit in their opening match of the Qatar World Cup last year and then went on to get eliminated from the group stage of the global event for the second successive term. Ilkay Gundogan had put the Germans ahead from the penalty spot in the 33rd-minute, but the Samurai Blue came out all guns blazing in the second half and scored two goals in the final quarter through Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano.
Under the lights in Wolfsburg 🤩#DFBTeam #GERJPN 📸 Getty Images pic.twitter.com/yoCWhFNxbI
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) September 9, 2023
As hosts of Euro 2024, Germany are not required to participate in the qualification process, therefore Hansi Flick’s side will play only friendlies till the tournament kicks-off next summer. Since their disastrous 2022 Qatar World Cup campaign, Die Mannschaft have played five friendlies this year, recording one win, one draw and three defeats in the process. DFB Team were beaten 2-0 by Colombia in their last outing on June 20 courtesy of second-half efforts from Luis Diaz and Juan Cuadrado. It was their second successive defeat and the result extended their winless run to four matches, scoring five goals and conceding nine in the process. The poor run of form is definitely a worrying sign for the 2014 world champions and Flick will be desperate to get his team back to winning ways.
Japan, on the other hand, gave an excellent account of themselves in the World Cup in Qatar, defeating Germany and Spain in Group E against the odds, and progressing to the last-16 stage, where they were beaten by Croatia on penalties. Meanwhile, in June, the Samurai Blue played two friendlies, thrashing El Salvador(6-0) and Peru (4-1). The AFC outfit got the better of Peru last time out thanks to goals from Hiroki Ito, Kaoru Mitoma, Junya Ito and Daizen Maeda. Japan have one more friendly lined up against Turkey this month as they are building towards their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign beginning in November.
Germany probable starting lineup: Ter Stegen, Rudiger, Sule, Thiaw, Kimmich, Can, Gundogan, Gosens, Musiala, Wirtz, Gnabry
Japan probable starting lineup: Nakamura, Sugawara, Itakura, Taniguchi, Tomiyasu, Ito, Endo, Kubo, Mitoma, Kamada, Furhashi
Germany
| Opponents | Score |
| Colombia | 0-2 (L) |
| Poland | 1-0 (L) |
| Ukraine | 3-3 (D) |
| Belgium | 2-3 (L) |
| Peru | 2-0 (W) |
Japan
| Opponents | Score |
| Peru | 4-1 (W) |
| El Salvador | 6-0 (W) |
| Colombia | 1-2 (L) |
| Uruguay | 1-1 (D) |
| Croatia | 1-2 (L) |
| Last 3 match-results | Score |
| Japan beat Germany | 1-2 |
| Germany draw Japan | 2-2 |
| Germany beat Japan | 0-3 |
The international friendly between Germany and Japan will take place at Volkswagen Arena on Sunday at 12:15 am IST.
| Germany vs Japan | Key Details |
| Date | September 9 (Germany) |
| Venue | Volkswagen Arena |
| Kickoff time in Germany | 8:45 pm (Saturday) |
| Kickoff time in Japan | 3:45 pm (Sunday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 12:15 am (Sunday) |
Football fans in Germany can catch the live action via RTL network. Meanwhile, those in Japan can watch the match on NHK G TV.
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