ShareAfter racking up the biggest result in the first round of World Cup fixtures, Germany face a much tougher test against a well rounded-looking Ivory Coast side, with top spot in Group E at stake.By Karl MatchettIt is, of course, advantage Germany when it comes to being in the driving seat for top spot, purely on account of that massive 7-1 win over Curaçao.Rotate or roll again?But Julian Nagelsmann will have seen a few aspects of his team’s performance that could do with improving all the same and, regardless, the calibre of opposition will ensure that was seen as not much more than an additional warm-up match. It leaves the manager caught between seeing how the team really plays against a notable opponent, and resting or rotating to keep others involved, knowing that even a draw puts Germany in with a great chance of topping the group.Wing wondersThe African side started their win over Ecuador with two unbelievably quick wide forwards on the flanks – and both ply their trade in Germany. Bazoumana Touré is direct, a tremendous crosser of the ball and a hard worker; Yan Diomande is the primary outlet, an absolute dribble monster and capable of the spectacular. Even if Germany dominate play, the threat at the other end will remain constant because of these two, with Diomande in particular the subject of transfer interest from Liverpool.He topped the Bundesliga charts last term among wingers and attackers for successful dribbles, racking up 4.3 per 90 minutes on average, while he also ranked at 96% for touches in the box. Against Ecuador he had the most (12) in that latter stat of anyone on the pitch and made the most chances (5) too. If that duo wasn’t enough, Amad Diallo came off the bench to score the winner – he could feature anywhere along the attacking midfield line, including in place of Touré from the start or as a No. 10.Ivory Coast formation vs. EcuadorRecent formGermany beat Switzerland and Ghana in March, Finland and USA before the World Cup started and then Curaçao last week. Ivory Coast lost 3-2 to Egypt in the Afcon quarter-final in January but have won four straight since then.Team newsManuel Neuer has confirmed he’ll retire (again) after these finals but is certainly available for the next few weeks, which has understandably irritated a few other German goalkeepers. Neither side have any injury worries and Ivory Coast have striker Elye Wahi available after he was initially denied entry into Canada.Key playerThere will be a lot more defensive requirement on the German midfield this time around, so Aleksandar Pavlović is the one to watch as nominally the ball-winner against those regular and speedy Ivory Coast breaks. Last season in the Bundesliga he was dribbed past 0.55 times per 90 minutes and Bayern Munich conceded an average of 1.42xG while he was on the pitch – his timing and pitch coverage will have to be on point here.PredictionGermany will have to raise their game, but the expectation is that they will. Control against counter-attack, and a few goals could be the result: Germany 3-2 Ivory Coast.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the World Cup with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.After racking up the biggest result in the first round of World Cup fixtures, Germany face a much tougher test against a well rounded-looking Ivory Coast side, with top spot in Group E at stake.By Karl MatchettIt is, of course, advantage Germany when it comes to being in the driving seat for top spot, purely on account of that massive 7-1 win over Curaçao.Rotate or roll again?But Julian Nagelsmann will have seen a few aspects of his team’s performance that could do with improving all the same and, regardless, the calibre of opposition will ensure that was seen as not much more than an additional warm-up match. It leaves the manager caught between seeing how the team really plays against a notable opponent, and resting or rotating to keep others involved, knowing that even a draw puts Germany in with a great chance of topping the group.Wing wondersThe African side started their win over Ecuador with two unbelievably quick wide forwards on the flanks – and both ply their trade in Germany. Bazoumana Touré is direct, a tremendous crosser of the ball and a hard worker; Yan Diomande is the primary outlet, an absolute dribble monster and capable of the spectacular. Even if Germany dominate play, the threat at the other end will remain constant because of these two, with Diomande in particular the subject of transfer interest from Liverpool.He topped the Bundesliga charts last term among wingers and attackers for successful dribbles, racking up 4.3 per 90 minutes on average, while he also ranked at 96% for touches in the box. Against Ecuador he had the most (12) in that latter stat of anyone on the pitch and made the most chances (5) too. If that duo wasn’t enough, Amad Diallo came off the bench to score the winner – he could feature anywhere along the attacking midfield line, including in place of Touré from the start or as a No. 10.Ivory Coast formation vs. EcuadorRecent formGermany beat Switzerland and Ghana in March, Finland and USA before the World Cup started and then Curaçao last week. Ivory Coast lost 3-2 to Egypt in the Afcon quarter-final in January but have won four straight since then.Team newsManuel Neuer has confirmed he’ll retire (again) after these finals but is certainly available for the next few weeks, which has understandably irritated a few other German goalkeepers. Neither side have any injury worries and Ivory Coast have striker Elye Wahi available after he was initially denied entry into Canada.Key playerThere will be a lot more defensive requirement on the German midfield this time around, so Aleksandar Pavlović is the one to watch as nominally the ball-winner against those regular and speedy Ivory Coast breaks. Last season in the Bundesliga he was dribbed past 0.55 times per 90 minutes and Bayern Munich conceded an average of 1.42xG while he was on the pitch – his timing and pitch coverage will have to be on point here.PredictionGermany will have to raise their game, but the expectation is that they will. Control against counter-attack, and a few goals could be the result: Germany 3-2 Ivory Coast.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the World Cup with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.