Viva's Power Rankings — No.4: Germany, Musiala returning, a system finally built for the modern game, and twelve years of waiting
Germany have not won a World Cup since 2014. Musiala is back from injury. Wirtz is at his peak. Nagelsmann has finally built a system that matches the talent available. Fourth on this list — and Viva's dark horse for the final.
Germany in 2026 feel different from Germany in 2018 or Germany in 2022. The 2018 group stage exit. The 2022 group stage exit. Two consecutive failures that forced a reckoning with what German football had become and what it needed to become next.
Julian Nagelsmann has done the reckoning. The system he has built — a high-pressing, positionally fluid structure that demands technical quality and physical intensity simultaneously — finally matches the talent Germany have been producing at club level for years. The system and the players have aligned. The timing, for the first time in twelve years, is good.
Musiala returning
The central story of Germany's tournament is Jamal Musiala's return from injury. Months out, careful rehabilitation, and now back in the squad with the particular quality that players returning from serious injury at major tournaments tend to carry — heightened appreciation, focused determination, the specific motivation that comes from having lost something temporarily and being determined not to waste the recovery.
His ability to operate in tight central spaces without losing control of the ball or the situation — to play forward rather than backwards under pressure — is the quality that Nagelsmann's system creates opportunities for. When Musiala has the ball in central areas with defenders pressing, good things happen for Germany.
Wirtz alongside him
Florian Wirtz at 22 is one of the most complete attacking midfielders in European football. Alongside Musiala, Germany have two players who can change a match individually while also combining in ways that multiply each other's effectiveness. Germany's ceiling in this tournament is the final.
Manager: Julian Nagelsmann | Key player: Jamal Musiala
Group: Group E with Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
"Musiala back from injury. Wirtz at his peak. A system that finally fits the players. Germany have not won this tournament since 2014 and the wait has sharpened everything. My dark horse for the final. If Musiala fires from the first match, Germany go all the way. I genuinely believe that."
Next in the Power Rankings
No.3 tomorrow — European champions. Reigning title holders. The deepest squad at the tournament. And a 27-year-old captain four goals from the all-time World Cup scoring record. Number three tomorrow. Back to VivaSportsHQ →
