Germany is one of the countries that has won the World Cup the most times.
In the last 92 years, they have played in all but two World Cups. They skipped the first one in 1930 when most European countries did. After the Second World War, they were not allowed to compete in the 1950 finals qualifiers.
After the war, when West Germany and East Germany split up and East Germany was made, the German national team was often called “West Germany.”
Under this informal name, Germany won its first World Cup in 1954, and it won its second in 1974. Franz Beckenbauer was one of the few people to win a World Cup both as a player and as a manager when he led Die Mannschaft to another title in 1990.
Political reunification happened in the fall of 1990, but it took until 2014 for the German national team to win its first World Cup after being back together.
Over the years, the Germans’ consistency at the World Cup has become legendary. From 1966 to 1990, they made it to at least the semi-finals of six of the seven tournaments they entered and played in five tournament finals. Again, from 2002 to 2014, they always made it to the final four or better.
But Germany hasn’t exactly had a smooth ride in recent years. Their 2018 tournament as the defending champions was a disaster, and 2022 started off in a similar way.
How many times has Germany lost its first game at a World Cup?
In 1934, the inaugural year of the tournament, Germany defeated Belgium, 5-2, to advance to the second round. In 1938, they were knocked out in the first round, even though they tied their first game against Switzerland and only lost the replay.
After the Second World War, the Germans won their first game against Turkey in 1954 and their first game against Argentina in 1958. In 1962, they played Italy to a 0-0 draw, and then they beat Switerland and Morocco in a row in 1966 and 1970. In 1974, they beat Chile to start their first World Cup as hosts.
Four of Germany’s six games at the 1978 World Cup ended in a tie. This was one of their worst tournaments of the 20th century, and it started with a tie against Poland. In 1982, they made it all the way to the final, but their first game, against Algeria, was one of the biggest surprises in World Cup history. They lost 2-1.
Germany didn’t lose its first game at another World Cup until 2018. In the years since then, they had started many tournaments with big wins, such as an 8-0 win over Saudi Arabia in 2002 and 4-0 wins over both Australia and Portugal in 2010 and 2014.
Germany’s 2018 tournament was a disaster. They started by losing to Mexico 1-0. Hirving Lozano scored the game’s only goal in the 35th minute. That set the tone, because at the end of the group stage, they lost to South Korea, which sent them home early.
2022 didn’t get off to a good start when they lost to Japan. Ilkay Gundogan scored from the penalty spot to give Germany the lead, but Japan scored two goals without a response late in the second half to beat Die Mannschaft 2-1.
Germany has only lost three of its first 20 World Cup games, which is still a very good record.
