Arsenal and Germany star Mesut Ozil unsurprisingly wants Germany to defend their title at this summer’s World Cup – however, he wants to do so by defeating England in the final.
Germany fans would have breathed a sigh of relief as the five time Germany Player of the Year had been struggling with injury in the lead up to the tournament but, there was positive news regarding his fitness as the Metro reported that Ozil should be fit for the German’s opening game against Mexico on June 17 in Group F.
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The playmaker has been a key part of the international set-up for many years and has high aims for his team and dreams of winning the tournament at the expense of the Three Lions too.
As per the Evening Standard the World Cup winner said: “We are the current world champions. We have to try to repeat that — to get to the final and to fight for everything. That’s what German fans demand of us. But, personally, my dream is to play England in the final — and beat them without even the need for extra time.”
However, Ozil has high expectations for England and was impressed with the way they navigated through qualification.
“The way I see it, England are there,” said Ozil.
“They reached this World Cup with fewer problems to qualify than most other teams and that has given them time to prepare. They are going to be in the final stages of this World Cup, that’s what I expect.
“They are one of the teams that can make it hard for us. We are the current world champions and repeating the world title would be a great milestone for Germany.”
He also feels that Belgium will be the surprise contenders to do well in the competition and said the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Portugal will be challenging too.
He continued: “I see a lot of teams who will believe they can win. Brazil and Argentina, for a start, but I don’t rule out teams like England, Spain or Portugal. Everyone is training and preparing to go right to the end and there is always a team who spring a surprise and go further than you think. Perhaps this time it will be Belgium.”
Ozil boasts wonderful stats for his country and has 67 goals/assists combined in 90 appearances and will be looking to inspire one of the tournament’s favourites to victory but first comes Mexico on Sunday.