World Cup holders Germany will begin their title defence on Sunday when they open their Group F account against Mexico at the Luzhniki Stadium.
2018 FIFA World Cup
17 June 2018
Group F
Kick-off: 20:30 IST
Venue: Luzhniki Stadium
Referee: A. Faghani
Assistant referee: R. Sokhandan, M. Abdulla
Fourth official: M. Abdulla
Fifth official: M. Al-Hammadi
Players to watch:
It’s difficult to signal out any one particular player from the star-studded Germany squad, but Marco Reus has a lot to prove after missing out in 2014 through injury. He will love to make people take note of his abilities and try to be decisive.
Javier Hernandez has been among the key players for Mexico for a while now and the striker will be expected to carry the hopes of his country in the finals as he’s done in the past.
Team news:
Mesut Ozil has recovered from the minor knee problem which led to him missing Germany’s last warm-up match with Saudi Arabia.
Mexico will be without Nestro Araujo, who was left out of the World Cup squad after failing to recover from a knee injury. Diego Reyes has been ruled out of the competition with a long-term hamstring injury.
Prediction:
Germany 2-0 Mexico