WHEN it comes to competing at the World Cup, there are teams, there are ‘tournament teams’, and then there is Germany. Brazil might boast one more world title than the reigning World Cup winners, but no one can match Germany’s record for rising to the biggest occasion of all.

Since returning to the World Cup stage in 1954, when they were crowned champions in Switzerland, Germany, as either a unified nation or as West Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, have never failed to reach at least the last eight.

In the last four tournaments, they have made two semi-finals and two finals, and four years ago in Brazil, they claimed their fourth world title after a remarkable campaign that featured a 7-1 annihilation of the hosts, not to mention a 4-0 rout of future European champions Portugal in their opening game. The final against Argentina might have been something of a war of attrition, but in truth, Germany won the World Cup at a canter.

Four years on, and plenty of familiar faces are returning to try to retain their crown. Six members of the team that started the 2014 final win over Argentina are set to kick-off in Germany’s opening group game against Mexico this time around, along with Joachim Low, who will be back in the dug-out for what will be his final international campaign. A German side competing at a World Cup finals hardly needs additional motivation, but the desire to provide Low with a fitting send-off will further focus minds in Russia.

This could also be the final tournament for a batch of players entering their late 20s or early 30s, so for the likes of Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Sami Khedira, Thomas Muller, Mezut Ozil and Mario Gomez, who have been so crucial to Germany’s run of sustained success over the last decade, the next six weeks will be about cementing legacy. You have to go back to 1962, and a brilliant Brazilian side, to find the last time a team successfully defended the World Cup trophy.

Can Germany repeat the feat more than half-a-century later? Of course they can. All the strengths that were apparent in Brazil four years ago remain in place, including a supremely well-drilled defence, a midfield overflowing with creative options and an attack that can be organised in a number of different formations. Then there is the less tangible asset of Germany’s ‘tournament mentality’, reflected in their proven ability to negotiate the unique challenges of a major competition. Whenever they step onto the World Cup stage, Germany’s players immediately know how to adopt winning approach.

That attitude was certainly apparent last summer, when what was effectively a Germany ‘B’ team cruised to victory in the Confederations Cup. FIFA’s pre-World Cup warm-up tournament is often derided as an uncompetitive money-making exercise, but the most recent edition proved a valuable staging post for Germany on the Road to Russia.

If nothing else, it confirmed Low’s success in adding some new blood to the squad that proved so successful in Brazil, and emboldened his selection process ahead of this summer’s tournament.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Timo Werner all came of age in the Confererations Cup, and the quartet have all been included in Germany’s World Cup squad.

Werner, who has just completed a successful Bundesliga campaign with RB Leipzig, has become an extremely important figure, dislodging Gomez to lead the line and enabling Low to shuffle Muller and Marco Reus into attacking midfield positions where they are generally more effective.

Even when they were winning world titles and making World Cup semi-finals over the last decade, one of the main criticisms that could be levelled at Germany was that they lacked a proven replacement for Miroslav Klose. Not anymore. He might just be 22, but Werner can claim to be one of the most in-form strikers lining up in Russia.

He will lead the line, but it remains to be seen how Low fits his various midfield pieces into the overall jigsaw. Ozil is expected to start despite a typically mixed campaign with Arsenal, but Julian Draxler and Julian Brandt could both struggle for game time despite combining to keep Manchester City’s Leroy Sane out of the squad. It says much for the strength in depth in the German game that Sane did not make it into the final 23, although the winger’s absence could yet come back to haunt Low if things do not go well.

Managing the transition to a new group of players has been one of Low’s biggest challenges over the last four years, and while the general impression is that he has overseen things successfully, the potential for controversy remains.

Neuer looks set to get the nod in goal ahead of ter Stegen, despite a groundswell of domestic opinion favouring the latter. Similarly, Low looks set to keep faith with Jonas Hector at left-back, despite the defender having just suffered relegation from the German top-flight with FC Koln.

Keeping everybody happy will be a challenge, and the German squad has suffered some uncharacteristic difficulties in the build-up to the tournament that have disrupted the traditionally serene passage to a major competition.

Friendly results have been unimpressive – Germany suffered a shock 2-1 defeat in Austria at the start of the month before grinding out a below-par 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia last week – and some off-field issues have proved problematic.

Ilkay Gundogan was booed by his own supporters during the Saudi Arabia game, a fall-out from his meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, along with team-mate and fellow Turkish descendent Ozil, where he called the controversial leader “my president”.

Migration and multiculturalism have become heated political issues in Germany in the last few years thanks to Angela Merkel’s ‘open door policy’, and the national football team, previously seen as untouchable and immune from criticism, has come under increased scrutiny. It will be interesting to see how the players react if off-field issues become a major source of attention in the next month-and-a-half.

The draw could also have been kinder from a German perspective, with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea set to provide strong competition. All three Group F opponents boast a decent World Cup track record, although it would still be a major surprise if Germany did not make the second round with a bit to spare.

Winning the group could be crucial though, as a second-place finish could set up a last-16 tie with Brazil. That would provide Brazil with an early chance to atone for 2014’s humiliation, something Germany will be keen to avoid at such a formative stage of the competition.