Germany vs Ivory Coast: Match Preview | OneFootball

On Saturday, the top two teams in Group E will compete as Germany and Ivory Coast face off in Toronto, Canada. Both teams won the first game, so the confidence will be running high and they will want to continue their run.

So without further ado, let’s get into this matchup.

Germany’s First Game

It was a very comfortable first game for the Germans as they took on the World Cup debutants Curaçao, who are the smallest nation to ever qualify for a World Cup both in population and land area.

It was a David vs Goliath type of game on paper, and although Curaçao managed to score and kept the game 1-1 until the 38th minute, it soon became mismatched.

Germany ended up winning the game 7-1. Also impressive is that six different players scored for them. Only Kai Havertz scored twice, with one of those being penalty, so it shows that anyone on the team is capable of getting on the scoresheet.

But this match against Ivory Coast will be a lot more challenging for Germany, so let’s see how they respond.

Ivory Coast’s First Game

For the Ivorians, their first game was much, much tougher than what the Germans experienced.

In front of a very pro-Ecuadorian crowd in Philadelphia, Ivory Coast seemed like the second best team for the majority of the game. However, luck was on their side as Ecuador hit the woodwork twice and Ivory Coast ended up getting a late winner to earn full three points.

Things won’t be any easier for them as they now take on Germany. But a win in their first game will give them a lot of confidence going into this one, and they have the motivation to reach the knockout stage for the first time ever in a World Cup.

Match Preview

When the draw came out, this was the game fans circled on the calendar. So it will have a lot of eyeballs.

Ivory Coast won the AFCON a couple years ago at home. So they have a very strong team led by guys like Nicolas Pepe, Franck Kessie, and of course, Amad Diallo who scored the winner in the last game.

They may not be the team with most possession in games, and they don’t need the ball all the time. They have very athletic, speedy, and technical players who can hurt any team from counterattacks. That’s how they will be approaching this game against the Germans.

Germany, on the other hand, will try to keep the ball a lot and find open spaces in the opposition’s backline.

They are deadly in front of goal and Havertz is starting to really feel comfortable playing up top. He has guys like Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz who can not only feed him the ball, but also can score on their own.

It will be a really entertaining game with action back and forth, so both teams will have plenty of chances. But the Germans will feel they should be good enough to win this game and they will go all out to show the world why they’re considered one of the favorites in this World Cup.

Prediction: Germany 3-1 Ivory Coast