After winning the World Cup proper in Rio de Janeiro last year, the Germany under-20 squad will be keen to replicate the feats of their elders and secure the youth title in New Zealand.
Frank Wormuth's side will travel to the southern hemisphere as one of the pre-tournament favourites, and rightly so. The Germans have been right at the top of European competitions since their triumph over Argentina; the under-19s were crowned European champions that summer and the under-17s reached the final of their respective continental tournament. In fact, it was the under-19s performance that secured their place in New Zealand.
However, this is the first chance for any of the youth teams to prove that they have what it takes to do it on the world stage. This competition has not been a happy hunting ground for Germany and they've only be crowned world champions once at this age group, back in 1981. Even then, it was called the 'FIFA Youth Championship'. It did produce Borussia Dortmund legend Michael Zorc and was in neigbouring Australia - a good omen, perhaps?
The background
Could this current crop of youngsters buck that trend? Well, going by their performances in last summer's Euros, they certainly will. Apart from a 2-2 draw with Serbia, Germany dominated the entire tournament and didn't concede another goal. Even when faced with Portugal, who many fancied to upset Marcus Sorg's side, were stifled and a Hany Mukhtar goal sealed a professional performance and secured the Championship.
This year, Wormuth decided to pick around half of Sorg's successful team - whether that be from personal choice or players backing out. One such absentee was Player of the Tournament, Davie Selke. The soon-to-be RB Leipzig striker shone in Hungary, earning the golden boot with six goals. He's continued that form with Werder Bremen and that's earned him a much maligned big money move to Saxony. Somewhat surprisingly, according to kicker, he asked to be left out this time.
Fabian Holthaus, a buccaneering left-back, and Joshua Kimmich, who'll be at Bayern Munich next season, were other big names not to be included - though Holthaus has been ruled out with injured. Despite this, there is every reason to suggest this is an even stronger squad.
Levin Öztunalı, Marc Stendera and Mukhtar all remain and so does star-man Julian Brandt. Kevin Akpoguma, Niklas Stark and Marc-Oliver Kempf, three of the four defenders in that side, will also travel to New Zealand. That begs the question; who'll replace Selke's goals? Tim Kleindienst, of Energie Cottbus, has been in great goal-scoring form and is a striker in the same ilk of the Werder Bremen forward who led the line before him.
The squad
Between the sticks, Germany have improved on Oliver Schnitzler. Whether it is Michael Zetterer (Werder Bremen), Marvin Schwäbe (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim) & Daniel Mesenhöler (1. FC Köln), Germany are well covered in that area. All three ply their trade at Bundesliga clubs, even though they aren't regulars, and have shown great promise in goals. There is no distinct number one for Wormuth's team, but any of them would do a fine job when it comes to the group stages.
As previously mentioned, Akpoguma (Hoffenheim), Stark (1. FC Nürnberg) and Kempf (SC Freiburg) are all likely to make up three of the four defenders. The trio were incredibly solid and physical, which meant that Germany were largely very strong in the air. Stark is the only one to have played regularly and has begun to come into a real vein of form ahead of the tournament, even though René Weiler has used him in midfield.
That means the left-back spot is up for grabs. Jeremy Dudziak (Borussia Dortmund) & Maximilian Wittek (1860 München) are the two main contenders. The former has recently broken onto the first-team scene with BVB and was included in a handful of games at the back end of the season. Wittek, on the other hand, has been a fixture in 1860's squad and a rare bright spark in their relegation-threatened season. Dudziak is a more likely choice to start, given his superior attacking abilities.
Thomas Hagn (SpVgg Unterhaching), Grischa Prömel (Hoffenheim) and Anthony Syhre (Hertha BSC) seem set to play a back-up role. Syhre, at the 2014 tournament, was a goalscorer in the win over Bulgaria and very dependable. Prömel made the Hoffenheim bench this season and was a regular in their Regionalliga side, while Hagn is a versatile defender. He featured 27 times for Unterhaching this season, though he couldn't prevent them from avoiding 3. Liga relegation.
Midfield is, perhaps, where Germany are strongest. In Robert Bauer (FC Ingolstadt 04), Matti Steinmann (Hamburger SV), Levin Öztunalı (Werder Bremen) and Julian Weigl (1860 München), Wormuth has four of the strongest defensive midfielders in the competition. However, who plays depends on what opposition Germany face. Steinmann is likely to provide cover for Öztunalı, who was a star in Hungary last year. It is between Bauer and Weigl as to who'll play alongside him.
Like Wittek, Weigl has been a stand-out performer for the Lions this season; so much so that he was rumoured to be close to a BVB move. He is more comfortable on the ball than most and certainly more than Bauer, who is a more defensive option. The 20-year-old was a key member of Ingolstadt's squad that won the 2. Bundesliga title and can also play in defence - a more physical presence.
Stendera (Eintracht Frankfurt), Mukhtar (SL Benfica) and Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen) will almost undoubtedly take up the trio of spots behind the lone forward. They terrorised defences in the Euros and a similar performance can be expected again, especially now that all have had regular first-team football under their belts this season. Stendera and Brandt, in particular, have been very impressive in the Bundesliga.
That leaves the three forwards: Kleindienst (Energie Cottbus), Felix Lohkemper (VfB Stuttgart) and Marvin Stefaniak (Dynamo Dresden). The former is the obvious candidate to start up front and his twelve goals and four assists have earned him a move to Freiburg in the coming season. Lohkemper was also included in the under-19 European triumph, though his role was limited. Stefaniak, capable of playing across the midfield, notched up fourteen assists for Dresden this season.
The predicted XI
Wormuth is likely to stick with his tried and trusted 4-2-3-1 formation, despite the fact Germany have lost their last two games in this age group. The spine of the side will be made of of players from the victorious European Championship campaign, so the starting line-up should look something like this:
Zetterer - Akpoguma, Stark, Kempf, Dudziak - Bauer, Öztunalı - Mukhtar, Stendera, Brandt - Kleindienst.
The group
Germany were handed a very favourable draw, when it came to their group stage opponents. They are by no means any pushovers, but they could have been drawn against five-time winners Brazil and the 2009 champions, Ghana. Instead, Germany will play Fiji, Uzbekistan and Honduras. After Wormuth and co. open up against Fiji (June 1st), they face Uzbekistan (June 4th) and then Honduras (June 7th) to finish things off.
What they are saying (Credit - DFB)
Frank Wormuth: "I’m confident that we’ll perform well at the World Cup. In our squad we have six Bundesliga, four 2. Bundesliga, four third division and seven Regionalliga players. It’s a very good mixture. We’re not just travelling to New Zealand to take part. If we reach the semi-final, then the World Cup will have been a success.
"Taking part in a World Cup is definitely a career highlight and a real challenge. We’ve been together as a group for a long time. There are now more games in a short period of time and the pressure increases from round to round.
"These are challenges that we need to overcome. Competing at international tournaments is extremely important for the development of young players. We therefore want to remain in the competition for as long as possible."
Marvin Stefaniak: "Football wise we are certainly very strong. We can play good football and move the ball well. The same applies to the other major nations such as Italy. But we are certainly among the best teams in the World Cup.
"We definitely want to win the group. Fiji, Uzbekistan and Honduras are certainly good teams, otherwise they would not be present at the World Cup. But first place must be our goal.
"New Zealand is fascinating and a very different world, but you have to get used to the time change. Therefore the first few days may be difficult. Nevertheless, I am happy to fly to New Zealand."
The prediction
The Germans haven't made it to a final since 1987, a long time considering the recent success of Germany's youth and full national sides. This time, that should change. They've got players playing week in, week out and a solid structure to build off of.
The trio behind Kleindienst are key and will determine just how well Wormuth's side do, as they look very solid defensively. South America's top sides will provide the biggest challenge; though, as their coach said, anything less than a semi-final will be disappointing.
The dates for your diary (All times in BST)
Group Game One - Fiji in Christchurch - 02:00 June 1st
Group Game Two - Uzbekistan in Christchurch - 08:00 June 4th
Group Game Three - Honduras in Christchurch - 03:00 June 7th
The full squad list (including those on-call)
Goalkeepers: Daniel Mesenhöler (1. FC Köln), Marvin Schwäbe (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Michael Zetterer (Werder Bremen).
Defence: Kevin Akpoguma (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Thomas Hagn (SpVgg Unterhaching), Marc-Oliver Kempf (SC Freiburg), Grischa Prömel (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Niklas Stark (1. FC Nürnberg), Anthony Syhre (Hertha BSC), Maximilian Wittek (1860 München).
Midfielders: Robert Bauer (FC Ingolstadt 04), Hany Mukhtar (SL Benfica), Matti Steinmann (Hamburger SV), Marc Stendera (Eintracht Frankfurt), Julian Weigl (1860 Müchen).
Forwards: Julian Brandt (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Jeremy Dudziak (Borussia Dortmund), Tim Kleindienst (Energie Cottbus), Felix Lohkemper (VfB Stuttgart), Levin Öztunalı (Werder Bremen), Marvin Stefaniak (Dynamo Dresden).
On-call: Fabian Bredlow (Red Bull Salzburg), Timon Wellenreuther (FC Schalke 04), Tobias Pachonik (1. FC Nürnberg), Pascal Köpke (SpVgg Unterhaching), Marvin Friedrich (FC Schalke 04), Max Dittgen (1. FC Nürnberg), Nico Brandenburger (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Paul Seguin (VfL Wolfsburg), Moritz Sprenger (VfL Wolfsburg), Benjamin Trümner (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim) & Sebastian Stolze (VfL Wolfsburg).