Top 5 contenders for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

#3 Germany

The defending champions will face an uphill challenge in next year's edition

The defending champions should be higher up on the list, but their lack of a traditional centre-forward might hurt them in Russia. But that being said, they did perfectly well last time around without one.

Joachim Löw has built an extraordinary team out of young talents from across Europe, but primarily from the Bundesliga.

With the retirement of Philippe Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger from the national team, they needed a fresh batch of youngsters to take over the mantle, and that's exactly what has happened.

Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Sebastian Rudy and Emre Can, along with veterans Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira make up one hell of a midfield - possibly the best in the tournament.

In spite of lacking a proper number 9, they do possess some really interesting options going forward like Julian Draxler, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Julian Brandt.

Mario Gomez is nearing the end of his career, and Timo Werner still doesn't have the necessary experience, but, both of them could turn out to be a source of goals as impact substitutes.

A lot can change in 9 months, and Germany might well turn out to be favourites to defend the title by the time the tournament starts in June.