Matthäus expects Germany to reach 2026 World Cup semi-finals

Former Germany captain Lothar Matthäus expects the Germany national team to reach the semi-finals at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

In a prediction game for the Sport Bild weekly, Matthäus added that he, however, expects the team to lose to European champions Spain in the final four.

In this scenario, "Germany could be satisfied with their performance as things stand today. Reaching the semifinals would be a success," he said.

"But who knows: maybe Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Nick Woltemade and the others will conjure up such a frenzy during the tournament that they'll go even further. One thing is clear: as captain of the 1990 World Cup winners, I would want nothing more than another World Cup victory," Matthäus stressed.

The former Germany and Bayern Munich player doesn't anticipate any major problems for Germany in the World Cup. His predictions: 7-0 against the underdogs Curaçao, 2-1 against Ivory Coast, and 2-2 against Ecuador in the final match.

In his predictions, Matthäus has Germany losing to Spain 3-2 after extra-time like in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals. While Spain would advance to the final and claim the title over England, Germany would beat Argentina 2-1 to take third place.

"Of course these predictions are just for fun, small things can decide a knock-out stage match," he said, adding that Spain and England are the "absolute" top favourites for him.

The 2026 World Cup will have 48 teams and 104 games. The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19.