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Ahead of their FIFA World Cup campaign opener against Curacao, Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck had said that while the debutants will not be taken lightly, his side is the favourite. He also added that after two back-to-back exits in the previous two editions of the tournament, the team has "no motivation to show everyone what they can do".
The four-time champions, Germany, will be starting their bid for a record-equalling fifth World Cup title and their first WC in 12 years, against debutants Curacuo on Sunday. Curacao, as per Reuters, is a self-governing part of the Netherlands and has a population of just over 1,50,000. It is the smallest country to have qualified for the World Cup. All the players of the debutant team and the coach, Dick Advocaat, are Dutch nationals. Speaking ahead of the match, Schlotterbeck said, as quoted by Reuters, "We had a team discussion yesterday on Curacao, and it is a good team with players who have been trained in the Netherlands. But we are the favourites, and I am confident we will win the match." Germany's later challenges will be the Ivory Coast and Ecuador in Group E. The defender said that the team has a "lot of quality, a lot of players at their peak and a few playing their last World Cup". "You have a mix that is really good. Everyone is just looking forward to it," he added. Germany will be playing in Houston's hot weather, with temperatures expected to be around 30-degree celsius. But for the players, it is no excuse, and the focus is razor sharp on starting on a high note. Also, despite crashing out in the group stages in past two World Cups, there is no pressure, with Schlotterbeck saying that "they are a top, top team". "There is no pressure. We are going into this with confidence, and on Sunday, we want to show how good we are," Schlotterbeck said. "There is no motivation to show everyone what we can do. We should not be hiding from anyone. We are a top, top, top team, and we have been showing the German virtues on the pitch once again after a very long time. We have discipline, passion and ability to resist, and if we show our German virtues, then we are well placed," he signed off. *FIFA World Cup 2026 - Germany's full squad -Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Monaco) -Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nathaniel Brown (Frankfurt), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich, captain), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid, vice-captain), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle) -Midfielders: Nadiem Amiri (Mainz), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Pascal Gross (Brighton), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Alexander Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool) -Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Denis Undav (Stuttgart), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle). (ANI)
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