With just four group matches remaining, the Nationalmannschaft have now hit the final straight in the race for qualification for Euro 2016. This first double header is arguably the toughest, with Joachim Löw’s men first up against group leaders Poland in Frankfurt before travelling to Glasgow to take on third-placed Scotland.
Two wins will almost certainly guarantee automatic qualification and at worst a two-point advantage at the top of the group standings, while any slip-up could leave things wide open with the Republic of Ireland also into the hunt for a berth in the finals.
There are a number of changes from the previous Kader, with a full strength squad – including one new face – selected for these two crucial games.
The goalkeeping unit sees the return of first choice Manuel Neuer returning after a two-match rest, while Roman Weidenfeller makes way for recent Champions League winner Marc-André ter Stegen.
There are seven named defenders with Antonio Rüdiger and Erik Durm making way for Dortmund’s Matthias Ginter and Liverpool utility man Emre Can, who makes the senior squad for the first time after a number of excellent outings as captain of the Under-21 team.
In the middle of the park, stalwarts Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos also return after being rested for the last matches against the United States and Gibraltar, with Patrick Herrmann and the injured Sami Khedira making way. Up front, 1899 Hoffenheim’s in-form Kevin Volland will be hoping for another chance to prove himself at international level.
After a fairly poor 2014/15 and a number of sub-standard displays, the pressure will be really on for Germany to get back into the groove – and justify their being one of the favourites for next year’s finals in France.
Goalkeepers:
Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München, 58/0)
Marc-André ter Stegen (FC Barcelona, 4/0)
Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96, 6/0)
Defence:
Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München, 52/0)
Emre Can (Liverpool FC, 0/0)
Matthias Ginter (BV 09 Borussia Dortmund, 5/0)
Jonas Hector (1. FC Köln, 5/0)
Mats Hummels (BV 09 Borussia Dortmund, 39/4)
Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia CF, 8/0)
Sebastian Rudy (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, 9/0)
Midfield:
Karim Bellarabi (Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 7/1)
İlkay Gündoğan (BV 09 Borussia Dortmund, 11/3)
Christoph Kramer (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 10/0)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid CF, 58/9)
Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München, 63/27)
Mesut Özil (Arsenal FC, 66/18)
Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray SK, 125/48)
Marco Reus (BV 09 Borussia Dortmund, 25/9)
André Schürrle (VfL Wolfsburg, 46/20)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United, 111/23)
Forwards:
Mario Götze (FC Bayern München, 45/14)
Max Kruse (VfL Wolfsburg, 13/3)
Kevin Volland (1899 Hoffenheim, 3/0)