Prediction: Germany vs Mexico

Prediction: Germany win

Best Odds: 1/2

Bookmaker: bet365

The World Cup was set alight last night by the introduction of Cristiano Ronaldo, but with over half of the teams in the tournament still left to play their first game, we’re far from done. Over the next few days, several of the favourites will compete around Russia as they attempt to kick off their campaign with a victory – and world champions Germany are one of those teams. They’ll face a Mexico side who, in many ways, feel much more prepared for the WC than they did four years ago.

Germany

At every single major tournament it feels like the automatic assumption is that the Germans will succeed. As history suggests, that’s been pretty accurate over the last few decades – and they go into Russia with no fear as the reigning world champions. While they’ve been out of form lately they’ve still got one of the strongest squads in the entire competition, and they just seem to possess this phenomenal ability to turn it on when the lights are brightest. They may not get nine points from nine, but getting through to the knockout stages is a safe bet for them.

Team News

Timo Werner is expected to be the main man up top for the Germans with Muller, Reus & Kroos set to provide the midfield spine.

Mexico

It often doesn’t feel like a World Cup without Mexico involved, and this time around, they seem to be coming into the tournament with much more momentum than they did in Brazil. They don’t have the flashiest squad on paper but they’ve certainly got a few tricks up their sleeve, and they’re experts when it comes to qualifying from the group. They’ll likely be seen as the second favourites to progress, so getting anything from this game will likely be seen as a bonus.

Team News

Marquez could feature in his fifth World Cup, Ochoa will be looking to impress for a second straight WC and Javier Hernandez will probably be the front man for the Mexicans.

Factors to Consider

• Germany lead 6-1 in the head to head with four draws between them.
• Mexico have won three, drawn one and lost two of their last six games.
• Germany have only won one of their last six games.
• Mexico’s next game is against South Korea next Saturday.
• Germany’s next game is against Sweden next Saturday.

Conclusion

While it’s often difficult to predict what will happen during the opening round of fixtures for any given international competition, we’re confident in saying that Germany will pick up the three points here. We actually think that Mexico will start off brightly, perhaps even taking the lead, only for the world champions to kick into that next gear and really turn on the style. While the Germans aren’t necessarily known for blowing teams out in recent times, we’re going to go for a somewhat optimistic 4-1 scoreline as they begin the defence of their crown.

Prediction: Germany win

Best Odds: 1/2

Bookmaker: bet365