Eighty years in the making, Germany's stellar record in peril

Soccer Football - World Cup - Group F - Germany vs Mexico - Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia - June 17, 2018 Germany's Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and Toni Kroos look dejected after Mexico's Hirving Lozano (not pictured) scored their first goal REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Germany's phenomenal World Cup consistency means the reigning world champions have not been eliminated in the tournament's group stage for the last 80 years - but that could all change on Saturday.

In every World Cup since 1938 Germany have made it past the group stage. They did not compete at the 1950 tournament as they were banned from entering following the World War Two.