How Germany could line up against Costa Rica

Germany manager Hansi Flick is facing a couple of major attacking dilemmas for his side's final World Cup 2022 Group E clash with Costa Rica at the Al Bayt Stadium on Thursday.

Die Mannschaft may only progress to the knockout stages if they win this week, but Flick should be working with a fully-fit squad after Leroy Sane shook off a knee injury to come off the bench in Sunday's draw with Spain.

The Bayern Munich man will expect to come straight back into the XI for Thursday's game, and Flick could also make the bold decision to bring in Niclas Fullkrug after the Werder Bremen attacker came up with a late leveller against Spain.

Thomas Muller would likely be relegated to the bench in that scenario, with neither Jamal Musiala nor Serge Gnabry expected to cede their places in the final third.

Should Sane reinforce the attacking quartet, Ilkay Gundogan can expect to drop into a deeper role alongside Joshua Kimmich, demoting Leon Goretzka to a substitute role in the process.

Manuel Neuer should once again be protected by the duo of Niklas Sule and Antonio Rudiger, while David Raum - who has created a joint-high five chances for Germany at the World Cup alongside Musiala - is also set to hold his place.

However, Thilo Kehrer's spot on the right could come under threat from Nico Schlotterbeck or Lukas Klostermann, the former of whom produced an excellent last-ditch challenge to deny Alvaro Morata on Sunday.

Germany possible starting lineup: Neuer; Klostermann, Sule, Rudiger, Raum; Kimmich, Gundogan; Gnabry, Musiala, Sane; Fullkrug

> Click here to see how Costa Rica could line up for this match