Germany take on Brazil this Wednesday in a glamour tie of the midweek friendlies. Joachim Löw will be looking for a continuation of the form that has seen his side top UEFA EURO 2012 Group A with seven wins out of seven so far, while Brazil arrive in Stuttgart on the back of a disappointing Copa America Quarter Final loss to Paraguay.
WhoScored.com Dream Team XI
Rather than simply pick a first XI from Löw’s squad for the game, we’ve analysed last season’s stats from each of Europe’s top five leagues to gather the top-rated German players in WhoScored.com’s ratings. With this in mind, we present the best starting XI available to Löw, set out in his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.
Goalkeeper- Oliver Baumann
The 21 year-old Frieburg stopper was the top-rated keeper in the Bundesliga last term with a WhoScored.com rating of 6.98 over 30 appearances, edging out Manuel Neuer into second place with 6.83. Baumann continued his great form in the season opener away to Augsburg on Saturday- despite his side drawing 2-2, Baumann made 5 saves over the 90 minutes. Löw has named two keepers for Wednesday’s game but surprisingly Baumann’s name was not amongst them.
Right-Back- Philip Lahm
The Bayern full-back played 34 times at right-back in 2010/11 and picked up a WhoScored.com Rating of 6.93. He may have been second to Leverkusen’s Daniel Schwaab (6.99) but every team needs a leader and Lahm showed on Saturday he knows how to set an example. Moved to left-back to accommodate new Bayern signing Rafinha on the other flank, Lahm had more passes and touches than any other player on the pitch and was thoroughly unlucky to be on the losing side in the 1-0 home loss to MGladbach.
Left-back- Marcel Schmelzer
The twenty-three year old was the top-rated Bundesliga left-back in WhoScored.com’s ratings for 2010/11, with an average 7.03 per game. Schmelzer’s performances for champions Dortmund saw him break into the national side for the first time last season but injury has prevented him further adding to his 4 caps. In his absence, new signing Chris Löwe stepped in at left-back for Dortmund’s 3-1 win over Hamburger SV on Friday evening.
Centre Half- Mats Hummels, Philipp Wollscheid
It’s something of a mystery as to why Bayern Munich allowed Mats Hummels to slip out of their grasp. A product of the club’s youth academy, Hummels was initially farmed out on loan and then subsequently transferred to Dortmund and the big centre-half has grown from strength to strength since leaving the Allianz Arena. His partnership with Neven Subotic at the heart of Dortmund’s back-four earned Hummels a WhoScored.com rating of 7.07 over his 32 appearances as the club conceded just 22 goals.
Philipp Wollscheid was superb for Nurnberg last season, with a series of crucial performances at centre-half helping the club to a sixth place finish. He picked up a WhoScored.com rating of 7.13 over his 18 appearances and continued in the same vein this weekend- he rated 7.29, the top-rated of his side’s starters in the 1-0 win at Hertha Berlin, winning 100% of his aerial duels in a dominant display.
Double Pivot- Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sven Bender
Sven Bender worked perfectly in tandem with Nuri Sahin in Dortmund’s double pivot last season. His work rate and ball-winning ability is the perfect complement for a more cultured type, allowing the time and space to utilise their creative talents. Bender averaged 7.1 over a total of 28 appearances in WhoScored.com ‘s 2010/11 match ratings, and he once again showed his keenness for a challenge on Saturday, making 5 tackles in Dortmund’s 3-1 win over Hamburger SV.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was the highest-rated German central midfielder in WhoScored.com’s ratings last season. The Bayern man played 20 times in the double pivot role and averaged 7.4 per game, as he scored 4 goals and picked up 7 assists. Schweinsteiger comes into the game in good form, despite his club’s weekend defeat; he made 3 key passes -more than any Bayern player- had 2 shots and made 3 tackles in the 1-0 loss to MGladbach.
Attacking Midfield- Marco Reus, Mesut Özil, Kevin Großkreutz
Marco Reus’ 8 goals and 9 assists were fundamental to MGladbach surviving the drop last season. Despite playing in a struggling side, his attacking intent saw him pick up a WhoScored.com rating of 7.32 over his 16 appearances on the right wing. The twenty-two year old is another player who started the Bundesliga season in good form- Reus’ 3 key passes and 6 tackles at Bayern were key to his side’s triumph.
Mesut Özil was a standout success in his debut season at Real Madrid. Özil grabbed 17 assists- second only to Lionel Messi in La Liga and third best in Europe- and also bagged 6 goals for Jose Mourinho’s side. He played 25 times in the hole behind the lone forward and averaged 7.43 in WhoScored.com’s ratings. With Madrid continuing pre-season preparations for the upcoming Spanish Supercopa with Barcelona, Özil has been omitted from the squad, perhaps offering a chance for Dortmund’s young superstar Mario Götze to stake a claim.
Kevin Großkreutz was the top-rated German left winger for 2010/11. The Dortmund player averaged 7.09 in WhoScored.com’s ratings from a total of 27 appearances on the flank. Großkreutz scored 8 goals last term but has already shown an impressive eye for goal this season, scoring twice in the champion’s 3-1 win over Hamburger SV. He earned a call-up in May last year and has since turned out three times for the national side but Großkreutz failed to find a place in this week’s squad.
Forward- Mario Gomez
Top scorer in last season’s Bundesliga with 28 goals, Gomez has found the net in his last four games on the trot for Germany. The Bayern man played 27 times as a forward last term and earned a WhoScored.com rating of 7.71, the highest average of any player in our XI. Gomez was unlucky not to score against MGladbach at the weekend- he had 5 shots, with 4 saved and 1 hitting the woodwork and will be looking to make amends- who can bet against him putting a downbeat Brazil side to the sword?
Possible Starting XI vs Brazil
