The story before a ball is kicked
Ivory Coast arrive in Group E as the underdog seed with 4 Premier League players in their squad. Germany share that group as the top-fifteen FIFA seed with 5 PL regulars.
The two meet directly in the group stage. The result is critical — Group E's order through R32 is decided across just three matchdays, and head-to-head between equally-ranked teams is the second tiebreaker after points.
The pre-match weight of evidence leans Germany's way clearly. Below: a six-dimension head-to-head, the Premier League club distribution per squad, and the Onside verdict.
Build your XI for each side — share, save, replay
Tap eleven players for each nation. Pitch visualises your selections (4-3-3 schematic). Saved on this device so you can return to refine. Hit Share to post both XIs to X.
Showing Premier League names only — full 26-man squad lands when the football-data feed catches up.
Ivory Coast vs Germany — where each one wins
Each row scores the two teams 0–100 on a dimension. Longer bar = stronger. The colour-coded chip on the right names the winner of each axis.
Whose PL players are at the World Cup
If you own any of these clubs' assets in FPL, this matchup matters to your pre-season — tournament minutes here become Saturday minutes in August.
Where Ivory Coast's 4 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Ivory Coast's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Nott'm Forest leads with 1 player (25%).
Where Germany's 5 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Germany's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Newcastle leads with 2 players (40%).
Edge to Germany · clearly
- ·Germany sit #10 in the FIFA world ranking — 24 places clear of Ivory Coast.
- ·Germany's squad carries 5 Premier League regulars vs Ivory Coast's 4 — sharper match-fitness coming into the tournament.
- ·Historical confederation strength leans heavily Germany's way — every WC since 1934 has been won by a UEFA or CONMEBOL side.
| Axis | Ivory Coast | Germany | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | 67 | 91 | GER +24 |
| PL footprint | 18 | 23 | GER +5 |
| Host edge | 0 | 0 | level |
| Group seed | 50 | 100 | GER +50 |
| Confed | 60 | 92 | GER +32 |
| Experience | 50 | 95 | GER +45 |
Get the World Cup brief in your inbox — plus early FPL 2026/27 picks
Match-by-match predictions, captain picks for World Cup Fantasy, likely scorers, and the first FPL 2026/27 differentials to watch. Same engine that powers our Premier League tools, pointed at the world's biggest pre-season.
Weekly digest
Captain picks, transfer tips & differentials — every week.
One email per gameweek. Unsubscribe any time.
Tracking the World Cup? Use the same engine for FPL 2026/27.
v5 depth-2 GBT stacker · 51k+ OOS predictions · MAE 1.92. Captain picks, MILP squad optimiser, AI Coach, set-piece intel — the production Premier League tools.