Germany vs Ivory Coast Predicted Lineups & Team News

Germany began their FIFA World Cup campaign in style with a 7-1 thrashing of Curacao in Group E. On Saturday (4pm local/9pm BST, ITV1), Die Nationalelf face Ivory Coast, who also got off to a winning start with a 1-0 success against Ecuador.

Below I run through the Germany vs Ivory Coast team news and predicted lineups.

Germany

After a seven-goal showing last time out, Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann is unlikely to tinker too much with his side against Ivory Coast.

Striker Deniz Undav will be pushing to start following his goal and two assists from the bench. He may be considered ahead of Leroy Sane, who was considered the most ineffective attacker in that match.

If Undav was to come in, he'd be expected to spearhead the attack, so two-goal man Kai Havertz may be deployed slightly deeper.

Germany have no injury concerns coming into the game, so there shouldn't be any forced changes for this contest.

Ivory Coast

After coming off the bench to score the winner, Amad Diallo will be hoping to start against Germany. He was a key figure for the Elephants at the Africa Cup of Nations, so I was surprised to see him omitted from the starting XI against Ecuador last time out.

There's another wide player who poses a threat to Germany and that's Yan Diomande, who plys his trade at RB Leipzig. The attacker was crowned Rookie of the Season in the Bundesliga for 2025/26 and he's being linked with some high-profile clubs this summer, including European champions Paris Saint-Germain.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Germany's Joshua Kimmich spoke about the threat Diomande poses.

He said: “His dribbling is exceptional, a bit like Kingsley Coman at Bayern back in the day. He's got incredible pace."

Remember you can bet on this match and check out all of the live Germany vs Ivory Coast Odds over on betfred.com

Germany vs Ivory Coast Key Players:

Joshua Kimmich (Germany)

Kimmich has already got two assists to his name at this World Cup, and for as good as he can be offensively, there'll be a big emphasis on his defensive duties against Ivory Coast.

The right-back is likely going to be tasked with battling either Diallo or Diomande and both are tricky wide players to deal with.

The Elephants' stars will look to dance their way past the Bayern Munich defender but it won't be easy. The average number of times Kimmich was dribbled past in the Bundesliga last term was just 0.83 per 90.

Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)

Diallo was Ivory Coast's hero of the hour against Ecuador and I'm expecting him to come into the starting XI against Germany. Five of his seven goals for the Elephants have come in competitive fixtures, so he's very much a man for the big occasion.

Should he feature on his preferred right flank, he's likely to cause many problems for Germany left-back Nathaniel Brown, who can expect more trouble from Diallo than he experienced against Curacao.

For all of our coverage and betting markets for the festival of football this summer, please check out our World Cup Odds over on betfred.com