Germany conceded just four goals throughout their 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign en route to securing their first title since 1990. A key aspect of keeping their fiercely attacking rivals Argentina, France and Portugal at bay was not only a result of their incredible midfield depth, but with what could now be perceived as a golden generation of German defenders.
Anchored by golden glove-winning keeper Manuel Neuer, the endless stream of defensive options for Die Mannschaft at the tournament included the likes of Jérôme Boateng, Mats Hummels, Per Mertesacker and Benedikt Höwedes, with captain and Bayern Munich full-back Philip Lahm occupying one of the two defensive midfield positions.
With the latter three players all retiring by the time the 2018 World Cup rolled around, the Germans inevitably suffered a defensive disaster in Russia, conceding in all three games which included letting two slip against South Korea, en route to finishing bottom of the group and continuing the winner's curse of the tournament.
The Germans largely recovered their renowned defensive stability by conceding only four goals in a dominant qualifying campaign for the 2022 finals. However, a key moment in the interim saw the defensive options of the German side slimmed even further.
In March 2019, then national team coach Joachim Löw announced that the services of Boateng, Hummels and Bayern attacker Thomas Muller would not be required for the foreseeable future, although he welcomed back the latter two for squad inclusion at the Euro 2020 tournament.
While Boateng seemed the only victim Löw's extraordinary player cull at the time, it proved to be enough of a setback for Hummels that the Borussia Dortmund and former Bayern centre-back scored an own-goal which lead to a 1-0 victory for France at the Euros, and has not appeared for the national team since last year as a result.
Löw's replacement in September 2021, Hansi Flick, inherited this unease with the selection of defenders. The apparent stability of their defence, performing against much lower-ranked opposition in qualifiers, did not last for long.
After a frustrating run of five consecutive 1-1 draws, Die Mannschaft put five past Italy in a Nations League match in June, but managed to concede two in the same match. A 1-0 loss to shock group toppers Hungary and a goal fest against England in the most recent international break followed.
While the Germans were notably without defensive focal point Antonio Rudiger in the England match, the 3-3 draw, in which they conceded all of their goals within the space of 11 minutes, exposed a number of quietly lingering issues for the side.
The lack of depth and inexperience in the German back four was on show, arguably for the first time since the departures of Boateng and Hummels, with left-back David Raum only having 11 caps to his name after debuting in September last year, and Rudiger's replacement Nico Schlotterbeck gifting the Three Lions a late penalty in his fifth international appearance when he clumsily stomped on the ankle of Jude Bellingham.
While Rüdiger remains a near-certain starter at the 2022 finals, Flick will undoubtedly not want the Real Madrid star absent again when they attempt to tame the star attackers of their group stage opposition in Qatar, particularly Spain and Japan.
The AFC affiliates not only boast pacey Celtic duo Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi in attack, the Samurai Blue also have Eintracht Frankfurt playmaker Daichi Kamada and Brighton and Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma among their ranks – the latter memorably scoring the brace which sent the Socceroos down to the play-offs back in March.
Spain's deadly attacking options includes the likes of Alvaro Morata, Marco Asensio and Ferran Torres among others, which the Germans could have a tough time containing if the defensive experience of Rudiger or Dortmund's Niklas Süle is lacking.
While Flick is not short on young defensive options with a lot of potential in his upcoming squad selection for Qatar, there is no doubt that he will be leaning on experience to stem the run of goals that the Germans have been leaking over their past few matches.
