Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann
Tactics: Unadventurous but solid.
Star Player: Michael Ballack - goalscoring midfielder who captains the side.
Verdict: Host nations always seem to present a real threat and Germany, backed by a passionate home support, will be no different. Klinsmann's men do not have the quality of German sides of yesteryear but neither did the 2002 team which reached the final. Youth is slowly replacing experience with the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski getting their chance. Should be buoyed by an easy draw.
Ten things you didn’t know about Germany
1. Legend has it that when the Germans constructed a false airfield during WWII the RAF called their bluff by dropping a wooden bomb on it.
2. In an amazing feat of engineering the Germans built a kilometre long water bridge over the river Elbe to link two canals.
3. Heidelberg is home to the world’s largest wine cask, the Heidelberg Tun which was built in 1751 from 130 oak trees. It is 28 feet deep by 23 feet high and holds 220,017 litres or 293,356 bottles worth!
4. Desperate zoo officials in Bremerhaven have flown in female penguins from Sweden in an attempt to entice six gay penguins away from their male partners.
5. The Berlin Museum at Check-Point Charlie received a complaint from actor David Hasselhoff who felt they had overlooked his part in reuniting East and West Germany by singing his song ‘Looking for Freedom’ from atop the Berlin Wall.
6. During World War II, W.C. Fields kept US $50,000 in Germany 'in case the little bastard wins'
7. A hotel in Norden, North Germany charges its guests by the kilo in an attempt to encourage overweight guests to consider slimming down.
8. The oldest living rose in the world climbs the walls of the Hildesham Cathedral in Germany and is thought to be over 1,000 years old.
9. The Germans obviously have a thing about practical footwear; the inventors of the Doc Marten boot, the Birkenstock sandal and the running spike were all German.
10. ZAM, the Centre for Unusual Museums in Munich contains a Chamberpot Museum, Corkscrew Museum, Ethnic Doll Museum, Easter Bunny Museum and the Guardian Angel Museum.
