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Germany and Japan meet for a friendly in Wolfsburg on Saturday, with this their first meeting since the FIFA 2022 World Cup which saw the Germans make a surprisingly early exit. Hansi Flick's men went down 2-1 to Hajime Moriyasu's side in Qatar and Die Mannschaft are currently waiting to host UEFA Euro 2024 on home soil next summer, so are not currently in competitive qualifying action. 

It was a shock opening round loss to the Japanese which set Germany on their route to their second straight premature elimination back in late 2022 with a draw against Spain and a win over Costa Rica not enough to save them. The Germans have beaten Peru since, but also lost to Belgium, Poland and Colombia while they could only draw with Ukraine.

Japan ultimately went out to Croatia in Qatar's round of 16, but impressed with their group stage showing which also included a win over Spain despite a surprise loss to Costa Rica. Moriyasu's side are now on a run of one loss from four games  and thumped El Salvador and Peru most recently.

Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:

How to watch and odds

  • Date: Saturday, September 9 | Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
  • Location: Volkswagen Arena -- Wolfsburg, Germany
  • TV: FS2 | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
  • Odds: Germany -188; Draw: +333; Japan +360

Team news

Germany: Brighton & Hove Albion's Pascal Gross has been called up along with uncapped goalkeeper Oliver Baumann while Niclas Fullkrug has dropped out which has brought veteran Thomas Muller back into the fold. Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Kevin Schade are also present with no room for Marco Reus, Timo Werner, Mario Gotze or Leon Goretzka.

Potential Germany XI: Ter Stegen; Rudiger, Sule, Thiaw; Kimmich, Can, Gundogan, Gosens; Musiala, Wirtz; Gnabry.

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Japan: Kaoru Mitoma, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Wataru Endo should start while Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda are also in line to lead the attack. Five of this Japan group currently play in Germany such as Borussia Monchengladbach's Ko Itakura, Stuttgart's Hiroki Ito and Freiburg's Ritsu Doan.

Potential Japan XI: Nakamura; Sugawara, Itakura, Taniguchi, Tomiyasu; Ito, Endo, Kubo, Mitoma; Kamada; Furhashi.

Prediction

Germany are in difficulty of late while Japan remain quite an underrated force at international level. It should be tight and a score draw sounds the most logical conclusion. Pick: Germany 1, Japan 1.