GERMANY
Europe
Team Overview
Germany go into the World Cup with high hopes as they look to end their trophy drought on the international stage.
The Germans were unbeaten in their 10 games, winning nine of them to top their group.
With arguably the most talented and versatile squad they have possessed in recent decades, the three-times World Cup winners could be excused for eyeing their fourth win in Brazil.
Yet while their midfield is brimming with attacking talents such as Mesut Ozil, Mario Goetze and Thomas Mueller, their backline is far from perfect.
Coach Joachim Loew has yet to find a consistent central defensive pairing with Per Mertesacker, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Benedkit Hoewedes all competing but struggling to lock down a definite starting berth.
Germany have been far less impressive in friendlies this year, losing to the United States, drawing 3-3 with Paraguay, beating Ecuador 4-2 and drawing 1-1 in Italy. They did, however, beat France 2-1 and England 1-0.
Coach
Joachim Low
Low recently extended his contract to 2016. The 53-year-old has a very positive win-loss ratio in charge, having won 69 games, lost 15 and drawn 17.
Despite steering his team to a final and two semi-final spots in the three tournaments since he took over in 2006, Loew will not go down in German football history as a success unless he emulates predecessors Sepp Herberger, Helmut Schoen, Jupp
Derwall, Franz Beckenbauer and Berti Vogts, who all won titles.
Having transformed Germany from a physically strong yet technically limited team into an attack-minded unit, making the best of the country's youth system to bring through a string of players, Loew is now eager to see his work pay off.
With German fans' expectations sky-high ahead of the World Cup, Loew knows any result other than a win or at least a final spot will be considered a disappointment.
Key player
Mesut Ozil
Ozil's surprise move from Real Madrid to Arsenal for a reported 42.5 million pounds ($68.44 million) at the end of the transfer window in September smashed their club record as well as the that for a German player's transfer.
The playmaker is no ordinary midfielder. Gifted with some of the finest skills in modern football, capable of taking pace off the ball or slicing defences open with sensational passes, Ozil is indispensable for the Germans.
Accused by former club Real of not working hard enough, Ozil has quickly shown in England what he is made of, helping Arsenal to the top of the Premier League and their Champions League group in the opening months of the season.
Apart from dictating play in the last third of the pitch, Ozil also enjoys scoring, having netted 19 goals in 104 La Liga games over three seasons.
He has been even more successful for Germany with 17 goals in 52 internationals, prompting coach Loew to praise him repeatedly as a "genius". Ozil was also top scorer for Germany in the qualifiers, snatching eight goals.
How they qualified
Winners European Group C
2012
Sept 7 Faroe Islands H W 3-0 (Goetze, Ozil 2)
Sept 11 Austria A W 2-1 (Reus, Ozil)
Oct 12 Ireland A W 6-1 (Reus 2, Kroos 2, Klose, Ozil)
Oct 16 Sweden H D 4-4 (Klose 2, Mertesacker, Ozil)
2013
March 22 Kazakhstan A W 3-0 (Mueller 2, Goetze)
March 26 Kazakhstan H W 4-1 (Reus 2, Goetze, Guendogan)
Sept 6 Austria H W 3-0 (Klose, Kroos, Mueller)
Sept 10 Faroe Islands A W 3-0 (Mertesacker, Ozil (pen), Mueller)
Oct 11 Ireland H W 3-0 (Khedira, Schuerrle, Ozil)
Oct 15 Sweden A W 5-3 (Schuerrle 3, Ozil, Goetze)
Previous appearances: 17 (1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962,1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010)
Best performances: Winners 1954, 1974, 1990, Runners-up: 1966, 1982, 1986, 2002
William Hill odds to win World Cup (Nov 2013): 5-1