Germany are the favorites to win and rightly so, but they are ripe for picking. After their last World Cup victory several of their top players retired, potentially ending the golden era of German dominance in the women's game. Having won the previous two World Cups they are going to be under immense pressure and scrutiny playing at home. This will not be the same team that we are used to seeing from Germany.
While there will be many familiar faces, there has been a slight changing of the guard; much like we have seen everywhere else in women's soccer. This changing of the guard has led to a closing of the gap between many of the world's first and second tier squads. While Germany will be trotting out their old war horses like team Captain Birgit Prinz, the average age on the team is 25, the average level of experience is over 60 caps per player. With that in mind; if you remove the whopping 212 games played by Prinz the average experience level drops to 54 caps for the Germans.
Things are about to get pretty nerdy after the jump.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
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Look for Nadine Angerer to get the lion's share of playing time this tournament, she has 98 caps while her two back ups have combined for five caps. She managed a clean sheet for every match in the last World Cup and has not shown any signs of a dip in her performance, but maybe, just maybe her age is starting to catch up with her.
Taking a quick look at the back line, the average height is just under 5'8 and nobody is taller than 5'9. While not exactly giants they should be able to cope with most teams on corners and set pieces. Germany's defender's average 37 caps. Anike Grahn, 25, is the most experienced and leads the defense with 66 caps. Germany did not concede a single goal in the previous World Cup of 2007. However things have changed since '07. During the 2009 European Championship they only allowed one goal in the group stage to France, and then in the knockout rounds proceeded to allow at least one goal a game to Norway and Italy on their way to the final. In the final they let England net two! So it is in fact possible to score on the once impenetrable German defence.
The middle of the pitch more than make up for the lack of experience on the back line. When you break it all down, the midfielders average 75 caps per player. Ariane Hingst, 31, leads the way with 173 caps. While the average age is 25, this group of women will be the back bone of this German squad. Kerstin Garefrekes has been dominant over the last several years, and in previous tournaments her solid play has been tantamount to the German attack as any other contribution. Kim Kulig, 21, will be one of the up and comers to watch in this year's tournament and tournaments to come. The attacking Midfielder has a nose for the goal and is renowned for her playmaking ability. The name that you should expect to hear a lot of during the group stages is Fatmire Bajramaj, she was the most sought after woman in Germany, and she will be become the most expensive player in the Bundesliga after her transfer from Potsdam to Frankfurt.
Coach Silvia Neid decided to only list four forwards on her squad and they average 29 years old. It is interesting to think that the bulk of their experience comes from their front end players. The most seasoned veteran is team captain Birgit Prinz having scored 128 goals over her 212 appearances. She made her international debut just over 18 years ago scoring a 89th minute goal against our very own Big Red.
Unfortunately, for the Germans, she injured herself during training a few weeks prior to the first match of the tournament. If she should be sidelined, there is a potential heir to her thrown in 21 year old sensation Alexandra Popp. Popp was the Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner in last summers U20 World Cup and she has an unreal tally of nine goals in 12 games since joining the full women's team.
Germany are the team to beat, but if ever there was a setting where the circumstances were just perfect for an upset; this is it.