FIFA U-20 World Cup Preview: Germany look to start with a win against Fiji

Germany and Fiji will open up their Group F FIFA under-20 World Cup campaigns on Monday. Both sides will be keen to kick-start their tournament with three points.

The Fijians will have been looking forward to this moment since they qualified. When their young stars take to the field against Germany, it'll be the very first time that any of their football teams have taken to the field in the finals of a FIFA tournament.

The task at hand is an enormous one. The Germans, one of the most well-respected countries in world football, are one of the early favourites to be lifting the trophy come June 20th. Should die Nationalmannschaft be on the winners podium in Auckland, it'll be their first triumph since 1981.

Germany will be participating in their tenth finals, but the absence of Tim Kleindienst will hit the team hard. A knee ligament injury halted his tournament before it even started, so Marvin Stefaniak could lead the line.

Ravinesh Kumar's men went one better than second place in the 2013 OFC U-20 Championship, before going on to ensure qualification a year later by securing first. What they lack in experience will be more than made up for in tactical organisation and sheer enthusiasm - which could be a difficult combination for the Germans, who have had little preparation after a busy league season.

Form guide

Germany tasted defeat in both of their last two games, suffering 2-1 loses to both Poland and Italy. The team haven't played a competitive game since last summer, where the under-19s qualified for the tournament in emphatic fashion - winning the UEFA under-19 European Championship. Wormuth's men will be hopeful of showing just how talented their team is, when it comes to the meaningful fixtures.

Despite enjoying a great qualification campaign, in which they managed to drop just two points, Fiji have been on a rotten run of late. They have had seven goals put past them on two separate occasions (Busaiteen and Hungary) and picked up defeats to fellow World Cup participants, Colombia and Mexico, in the build up to the tournament.

Key men

Julian Brandt is probably the most well-known talent in this Germany squad and, after some stellar performances this season, it's easy to see why. The Bayer 04 Leverkusen man has featured thirty-five times for die Werkself, across all competitions, and has notched up four goals and five assists.

His dribbling and elusiveness are massive attributes and, along with his desire to be a success, has seen him become an important part of Roger Schmidt's squad at just 19. The recent run of goals, three in his last six, have also showcased his ability to finish - something that had been lacking earlier in the season.

Marc Stendera and Hany Mukhtar, Brandt's partners in the German trio of attacking midfielders, have also enjoyed great campaigns. Stendera has been entrusted with Eintracht Frankfurt's set-pieces, while Mukhtar was part of the SL Benfica side that pipped FC Porto to the Primeira Liga title.

It is widely expected that Germany will have the major of the ball and chances, so Fiji will be counting on Misiwani Nairube to come up trumps for them. The Ba FC stopper was handed the golden glove in the OFC U-20 Championship 2014. His performances helped them to concede the fewest goals and qualify for this tournament.

Narendra Rao, Jale Dreola and Setareki Hughes will be tasked with driving the midfield forward. They'll be extremely busy in the middle of the park and Rao will be keen to continue his club partnership with forward Saula Waqa, who should provide the biggest threat for the German defence.

What they're saying

Germany have had very little time to prepare for the tournament, but this isn't something that worries Frank Wormuth: "There are theories that say that the longer the boys are together, the more difficult it is, and a short preparation time holds up the morale. Marcus Sorg became European Champion last year without almost nay preparation. This shows that it can work."

Julian Weigl and Maximilian Wittek will not join up with the squad yet, due to relegation play-off commitments, while Jeremy Dudziak is with Borussia Dortmund ahead of their DFB-Pokal final.

Wormuth, who has been questioned over his decisions to include them, remains positive: "Both [Weigl & Wittek] will fly out and will be available for our third group match against Honduras."

He continued: "Jeremy will arrive just before our second group match against Uzbekistan. I hope that none of these players get injured, because we can only swap around injured players just 24 hours before kick-off."

Following the defeat to Hungary, Fiji technical adviser Frank Farina remained upbeat: “This was a good game because it gave us a feel of what we will face and how the conditions will be,” Farina said. “The players know that it will not be easy and this is the very first time they will be facing such conditions and will have to be ready."

He admitted that the build-up and warm up games were just what was needed, “This is what was needed because to play at this level you need to have the best build-up and the best games. The players have responded well and I am proud of them.”

Referee

The man in the middle for game will be Jhon Pitti, from Panama. The 37-year-old has been a FIFA listed referee since 2012 and alongside refereeing in native league, the Liga Panameña de Fútbol, he has also overseen a few games in the prestigious CONCACAF Champions League.