FIFA Ranking: 2 (Last Updated 05 Jun 2014)
History: The German national football team is one of the most successful national teams in the FIFA World Cup, winning three tournaments and reaching four other finals. The team has been present in 17 out of the 19 tournaments, the second highest along with Italy.
How they Qualified: Germany breezed through their qualifying group, only dropping points in a spectacular 4-4 draw with Sweden - after leading 4-0 by the hour mark. They scored 36 times in 10 matches.
Star Players: Manuel Neuer plays for Bayern Munich (Germany) at the club level and is regarded as one of the world`s best goalkeepers. He has been the German No.1 since 2011 and helped his team qualify for the semis in Euro 2012. Neuer is one of the best shot stoppers and has been instrumental in Bayern`s good showing in the Champions League in the last two seasons.
Phillip Lahm is one of the greatest right backs the world has witnessed. He too plays for German champions Bayern Munich. The German skipper is regarded as one of the most intelligent players in the world by Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. He was used in central midfield by the Spaniard and showed a great deal of versatility there.
Top Scorer during WC Qualification 2014: Mesut Ozil (8)
Top scorer at the Cup: Mirosolav Klose (14)
Most World Cup caps: Lothar Matthaeus (25)
Team record at the Cup: M: 99, W: 60, D: 19, L: 20
Coach: Joachim Low - He has been at the helm since 2006. Low signed a new contract until 2016 earlier this year but the pressure is on to win a trophy after some agonizing near-misses. He has a 68% winning percentage which is the highest for any German manager.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hanover 96)
Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Hoewedes (Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Shkodran Mustafi (Sampdoria)
Midfielders: Julian Draxler (Schalke 04), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Mario Goetze (Bayern Munich), Christoph Kramer (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Andre Schuerrle (Chelsea), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
Forwards: Miroslav Klose (Lazio), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal)
Group listing: Group G - Portugal, Ghana and USA.
Fixtures:
June 16: Germany v Portugal, Salvador
June 21: Germany v Ghana, Fortaleza
June 26: United States v Germany, Recife