So, it’s time for the start of the long road to Brazil, and the first World Cup Qualifiers against the Faroe Islands in Hannover (7th September) followed by a short trip across the border to Austria (11th September) – two games that on paper the Nationalmannschaft should win fairly comfortably.
Last month’s friendly against Argentina allowed Nationaltrainer Joachim Löw to experiment a little, but it’s now back to the serious stuff – a squad of twenty-two players have been named, and the big guns are back in the mix as skipper Philipp Lahm returns to the international fold along with Arsenal duo Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski. Having pulled pulled out with a slight knock just before the Argentina match, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is also back in the twenty-two.
The only big names missing from the Auswahl are midfield general Bastian Schweinsteiger and striker Mario Gómez, both not fully fit. There are three goalkeepers, seven defenders, eleven midfielders – including Lars Bender who had been selected as a midfielder as opposed to a defender – and the one striker, Miroslav Klose. One man named in last month’s squad misses out – Sven Bender.
Goalkeepers:
Manuel Neuer (Bayern München, 31 Apps/0 Goals)
Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96, 2/0)
Marc-André ter Stegen (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 2/0)
Defence:
Holger Badstuber (FC Bayern München, 26/1)
Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München, 26/0)
Benedikt Höwedes (FC Schalke 04, 9/1)
Mats Hummels (BV 09 Borussia Dortmund, 20/1)
Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München, 91/5)
Per Mertesacker (Arsenal FC, 81/1)
Marcel Schmelzer (BV 09 Borussia Dortmund, 7/0)
Midfield:
Lars Bender (Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 10/1)
Julian Draxler (FC Schalke 04, 1/0)
Mario Götze (BV 09 Borussia Dortmund, 16/2)
İlkay Gündoğan (BV 09 Borussia Dortmund, 3/0)
Sami Khedira (Real Madrid CF, 33/2)
Toni Kroos (FC Bayern München, 31/2)
Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München, 33/10)
Mesut Özil (Real Madrid CF, 39/9)
Lukas Podolski (Arsenal FC, 101/44)
Marco Reus (BV 09 Borussia Dortmund, 9/2)
André Schürrle (Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 17/7)
Forwards:
Miroslav Klose (SS Lazio, 122/64)
Germany have positive records against both of these opponents, though the two matches against the Faroes back in the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign were surprisingly hard fought affairs. The Mannschaft would secure a 2-0 win in Tórshavn with two very late goals, which would be followed by an equally tight 2-1 victory in Hannover where their unhrealded opponents had gone into the half-time break level at 1-1. Miroslav Klose, who will be hoping to make add to his 64-goal tally in what should be his 122nd appearance in the Nationaltrikot, would score the first of the two goals in Tórshavn and the winner at the AWD-Arena, where the teams will meet once again.
The match in Vienna against Austria on the other hand is the latest in the long list of encounters between the two neighbours, with Germany posting a 23-6-8 record – their last defeat coming in a friendly in 1986. The last occasion Germany lost to the Ösis in a competitive international was more than than three decades ago in the infamous World Cup second phase match in Córdoba in 1978, and the last meeting between the teams was the Euro 2012 qualifier in Gelsenkirchen where the Austrians were handed out a 6-2 hammering with goals from Mesut Özil (2), Podolski, Klose, André Schürrle, and Mario Götze.
As usual there will be more updates nearer the date – watch this space.
It will be interesting to see how the defence operates in the two games. Hopefully Germany will defend better than they did at the Euros and in the friendlies. Good to see Neuer back. I’ve been impressed with his commitment between the sticks (and outside the penalty box!) I’m looking forward to the day when he takes a pen and finally becomes the first goalkeeper to score for the Mannschaft (unless I am missing something and another Torwart has scored wearing the Trikot…)
Agreed. He has a presence that the others don’t have – the same presence as the likes of Schumacher and Kahn. As for a Torwart scoring for the Mannschaft, this might be a good thing to try looking up… I don’t think there has ever been one, but if there is it would be worth an article I think!