Expert Picks

Germany had already won this group, so a lot of people, myself included assumed they would rotate up their squad. That was not the case. Manager Julian has decided to play all Germany's best players in an attempt to "continue to build up the rhythm of his squad" , which means poor Ecuador could be on the end of another Germany beatdown. We're seeing Florian Wirtz, Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane all starting up top. This game could get ugly!

Why would Germany give a hoot (das boot?) here? It has won Group E so there is simply no reason to play any key guys, especially those holding a yellow card. Ecuador is playing for its life to advance (must get at least a point might need three) and has been rather unlucky to not have scored yet despite averaging 8 shots on target in each of the first two matches. In the last one, Curacao keeper Eloy Room stood on his head in a scoreless draw. That stellar Ecuador defense, meanwhile, hasn't been the issue.