Manager: Joachim Löw

Best finish (as West Germany and Germany): Champions (1954, 1974, 1990)

World Cup record: P 62, W 36, D 14, L 12

History: They're handy enough at this World Cup lark. Only Brazil (five) and Italy (four) have won more, no country has more top four finishes (12), and to the list you can throw in four runners-up spots and four third place finishes – including 2010 when they beat Uruguay, having lost by a single goal to eventual champions Spain in the semi-finals. Consistent, then. It's the dim and distant past of 1990, though, since they last won it.

White board: When they scraped home 6-1 in Dublin that time, their formation might have seemed on the 0-0-10 side, but Joachim Löw generally opts for a more guarded 4-2-3-1. An array of attacking talent to choose from, seven of their forward-minded players got three goals or more in the qualifying campaign. The key, though, is to tighten up at the back.

All Star - Mesut Özil: Way too many to choose from, not least Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm, but Özil's form in Brazil will be of particular interest.

County Colours – Tipperary: Always there or thereabouts, strutting around like they own the place . . . Oh, wait.

Pundit's Corner – Paul Merson: "They'll be deficient, Jeff. It'll be typical German deficiency."

Prospects: The bookies have them as third favourites, behind Brazil and Argentina, so hopes are high-ish. They won nine of their 10 games in qualifying, their only dropped points coming in that bizarre 4-4 draw with Sweden, after they'd led 4-0. Sweden also scored three against them in their 3-5 home defeat, all of which prompted Löw to fret over the leakiness of his defence against useful opposition. That could be their problem in a tricky group. A shootout with Jürgen Klinsmann's USA in the final game would be interesting.