“World Champions against Asian Champions – it’s a great way to kick off 2015 on the international stage,” said Löw. “The meeting with Australia is also a welcome opportunity for us to get into our rhythm ahead of the important game in Tbilisi against Georgia. I watched a few of Australia’s games at the Asian Cup and I was impressed. They are well organised and very solid. They conceded just three goals in the entire tournament, which speaks for itself. However, we want to give the supporters in Kaiserslautern a good game and pick up some momentum for the Georgia match by winning.”
Germany victorious in every meeting with Georgia
The DFB-Team have won all three of their previous clashes with Georgia. The teams last met on 7th October 2006 in Rostock. Germany won the game 2-0, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Ballack scoring the goals. Former Frankfurt player Kachaber Zchadadse’s side currently sit fifth in the EURO 2016 qualifying group with three points to their name. Meanwhile, Germany are level on points with Scotland and Ireland (7 each), with Poland leading the group (10 points). The group winners and runners-up qualify for the finals together with the best third-placed side of the nine groups. The eight remaining third-placed teams will enter the play-offs with four more spots at the tournament in France up for grabs.
“It’s an unfamiliar situation for us,” said Löw on how things stand in Group D at the moment, “but it’s not a problem. Our sensed are heightened; we know what we have to do and can’t afford any more slip-ups. We want to pick up three points in Tbilisi and that is exactly what we’re demanding of ourselves. I have complete faith that my players are aware of the situation and are capable of dealing with it. We’re confident, but we won’t underestimate Georgia. If we remain serious and show our quality on the pitch then we will come away from Georgia with the win.”
After the games against Australia and Georgia, the DFB-Team will begin their preparations for fixtures in June. Germany will first play a friendly against USA on 10th June in Cologne, before a EURO 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar in Faro on 13th June.
The Germany national team’s first squad of 2015 features 16 World Champions. Joachim Löw has named 20 outfield players and three goalkeepers for the friendly on Wednesday against Asian Champions Australia in Kaiserslautern (20:30 CET) and the EURO 2016 qualifier in Tbilisi against Georgia on Sunday, 29th March (18:00 CEST).
The squad will be led by captain Bastian Schweinsteiger of FC Bayern, who is back in the DFB-Team for the first time since the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina following injuries. “Bastian is our captain, he has tremendous leadership qualities. We need him both on and off the pitch,” said manager Joachim Löw. “Having him back is a huge bonus for us. I’m confident that he can kick on from his good performances in the Bundesliga and Champions League with FC Bayern.”
Badstuber’s last international was in October 2012
Alongside Schweinsteiger, two long-term injured players have also returned to the national team setup: Holger Badstuber (Bayern München) and Ilkay Gündogan (Borussia Dortmund). Badstuber has won 30 senior caps for Germany, with his most recent one coming way back on 16th October 2012 in Berlin during a 4-4 World Cup qualifying draw against Sweden. The Munich man barely kicked a ball in 2013 and 2014 after a cruciate ligament tear and a total of four operations on his knee, but has been playing regular football again since early 2015.
Gündogan currently has eight international caps to his name, with his last one coming on 14th August 2013 in Kaiserslautern during a 3-3 friendly draw against Paraguay. The Dortmund midfielder also scored in that game. Gündogan missed the 2014 World Cup win ongoing back problems. He made his return for BVB on 8th October last year in a Bundesliga meeting with Köln.
Löw “moved to see Holger and Ilkay back on the pitch”
“The pair have a long period of suffering behind them,” said Joachim Löw on returnees Badstuber and Gündogan. “I was moved to see Holger and Ilkay back on the pitch again and I’m impressed at how quickly they have returned to their high standards. It’s remarkable just how well they have dealt with the situation. They have worked hard for months and never lost their optimism, despite a number of setbacks.”
The Germany boss said that they have been called up for a different reason though: “Their involvement in the squad isn’t in recognition of them fighting their way back though; it’s a reward for their recent performances. We’ve always kept in touch with both players. It will be nice to welcome them back to the squad and we can now look to the future with the two of them instead of looking back.
“World Champions against Asian Champions – a great way to kick off 2015”
Mesut Özil (Arsenal) and Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund) have also returned to the squad. Both missed the European Championship qualifiers against Poland, Ireland and Gibraltar, as well as the friendly with Spain towards the end of 2014 due to injuries.
The upcoming game against Australia is the fifth meeting between the two nations. Germany have come out on top in three encounters, with the Aussies winning once. Löw has good memories of the 2010 World Cup opener in particular. The DFB-Team won 4-0 against the Socceroos back then in Durban in what was the manager’s first World Cup game in charge of the national team.
“World Champions against Asian Champions – it’s a great way to kick off 2015 on the international stage,” said Löw. “The meeting with Australia is also a welcome opportunity for us to get into our rhythm ahead of the important game in Tbilisi against Georgia. I watched a few of Australia’s games at the Asian Cup and I was impressed. They are well organised and very solid. They conceded just three goals in the entire tournament, which speaks for itself. However, we want to give the supporters in Kaiserslautern a good game and pick up some momentum for the Georgia match by winning.”
Germany victorious in every meeting with Georgia
The DFB-Team have won all three of their previous clashes with Georgia. The teams last met on 7th October 2006 in Rostock. Germany won the game 2-0, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Ballack scoring the goals. Former Frankfurt player Kachaber Zchadadse’s side currently sit fifth in the EURO 2016 qualifying group with three points to their name. Meanwhile, Germany are level on points with Scotland and Ireland (7 each), with Poland leading the group (10 points). The group winners and runners-up qualify for the finals together with the best third-placed side of the nine groups. The eight remaining third-placed teams will enter the play-offs with four more spots at the tournament in France up for grabs.
“It’s an unfamiliar situation for us,” said Löw on how things stand in Group D at the moment, “but it’s not a problem. Our sensed are heightened; we know what we have to do and can’t afford any more slip-ups. We want to pick up three points in Tbilisi and that is exactly what we’re demanding of ourselves. I have complete faith that my players are aware of the situation and are capable of dealing with it. We’re confident, but we won’t underestimate Georgia. If we remain serious and show our quality on the pitch then we will come away from Georgia with the win.”
After the games against Australia and Georgia, the DFB-Team will begin their preparations for fixtures in June. Germany will first play a friendly against USA on 10th June in Cologne, before a EURO 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar in Faro on 13th June.
