Pre-World Cup 2026 friendlies: Germany-Finland, likely lineups

Between the natural candidates for victory at the 2026 World Cup, Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany takes on Finland in a friendly at Mainz’s Mewa Arena to start picking up pace and regain chemistry among the players on the eve of their departure for North America.

The Mannschaft, included in Group E with Ecuador, Ivory Coast and Curaçao, faces Finland, which did not qualify for the World Cup instead.

The Germans have won four editions of the World Cup, three of them as West Germany at the time of the split with the eastern side. In 1954 they won in Switzerland after the so-called “Miracle of Berne” against Hungary in the final, in 1974 they broke the dream of the Total Football Netherlands, in 1990 they took Italia ’90 with the controversial penalty in the very final against Argentina converted by Brehme, and in 2014, after humiliating Brazil 7-1 in the semifinals, they got the better of Argentina 1-0 in extra time (decisive goal by Götze).

Finland has never played in the final phase of a World Cup. In the last qualifiers, the national team now coached by Denmark’s Jacob Friis competed in European Group G, finishing third behind the Netherlands and Poland, seven points behind the playoff zone. The top scorer in the qualifiers was Hannover striker Benjamin Källman, with three goals to his credit. It will, however, be Altman and Pohjanpalo, the latter in Italy for several seasons, in attack against the Germans on Sunday evening.

Probable lineups

GERMANY (4-2-3-1): Baumann; Kimmich, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Raum; Goretzka, Stiller; Sane, Musiala, Wirtz; Woltemade. Ct: Nagelsmann.

FINLAND (3-5-2): Hradecky; Alho, Koski, Miettinen; Skytta, Suhonen, Markhiyev, Walta, Lahteenmaki; Pohjanpalo, Antman. Ct: Friis.