Germany head coach Joachim Löw has recalled both Mario Götze and Ilkay Gündogan - 354 days after their last appearance for Die Mannschaft. The youngest ever German to score a game winning goal in a World Cup final as well as the 27-year-old midfielder who is a part of a Manchester City side who are currently leading the English Premier League will be part of a squad who are set to face England at Wembley and also France back home in Cologne. They will be Die Mannschaft’s last two internationals to be played in 2017. As well as recalling these two familiar faces, Löw has named Marcel Halstenberg in his squad for the first time.
When asked about his decision to bring back Götze and Gündogan, Löw said: “Mario Götze and Ilkay Gündogan have settled down after their spells with injury. They’re both playing an important part in the successes of their respective clubs this season and have got themselves back into a good rhythm. They’ve both shown how central they can be to any team when they’re fit. We’re really happy to have them back.”
On newly promoted Marcel Halstenberg Löw added: “Marcel Halstenberg has put in consistently good performances for RB Leipzig and has also shown in the Champions League that he is able to hold his own at the international level. We’re excited by his potential and we now have the opportunity to test him against some very strong opponents.”
16 Confederations Cup winners make the squad
A total of eight World Cup winners and 16 members of the side that triumphed over Chile 1-0 to win the Confederations Cup final will feature in the Germany squad to play England and France.
The encounters with England on Friday 10th November at Wembley and with France at the Rhein-Energie-Stadion in Cologne (14th November) will be the first of four international friendlies against some of the best sides the world has to offer, in an effort to test themselves ahead of next year’s World Cup in Russia. The second two games will be played at the beginning of 2018, against Spain in Düsseldorf (23rd March) and against Brazil in Berlin (27th March). The quality of these opponents can be summarized neatly with the amount of major titles they have won: England, France, Spain and Brazil have won eight World Cup titles combined, as well as five European Championships.
Löw: “Two teams of a very high standard”
“These two teams are of a very high standard. They’ll be two great tests that will give us a good view of where we are at ahead of next year’s tournament. This is the strongest England team in years, and they have a wealth of young talent. English football has developed hugely in recent years, which is shown not least by their youth teams winning two major tournaments. France also have some outstanding players, who have received brilliant training, and are also fast and athletic. It’s nice to finish off the year in front of our home fans and be able to show what we’ve got against a top team. We’re looking forward to the challenge and the support of our fans in Cologne.”
Germany head coach Joachim Löw has recalled both Mario Götze and Ilkay Gündogan - 354 days after their last appearance for Die Mannschaft. The youngest ever German to score a game winning goal in a World Cup final as well as the 27-year-old midfielder who is a part of a Manchester City side who are currently leading the English Premier League will be part of a squad who are set to face England at Wembley and also France back home in Cologne. They will be Die Mannschaft’s last two internationals to be played in 2017. As well as recalling these two familiar faces, Löw has named Marcel Halstenberg in his squad for the first time.
When asked about his decision to bring back Götze and Gündogan, Löw said: “Mario Götze and Ilkay Gündogan have settled down after their spells with injury. They’re both playing an important part in the successes of their respective clubs this season and have got themselves back into a good rhythm. They’ve both shown how central they can be to any team when they’re fit. We’re really happy to have them back.”
On newly promoted Marcel Halstenberg Löw added: “Marcel Halstenberg has put in consistently good performances for RB Leipzig and has also shown in the Champions League that he is able to hold his own at the international level. We’re excited by his potential and we now have the opportunity to test him against some very strong opponents.”
16 Confederations Cup winners make the squad
A total of eight World Cup winners and 16 members of the side that triumphed over Chile 1-0 to win the Confederations Cup final will feature in the Germany squad to play England and France.
The encounters with England on Friday 10th November at Wembley and with France at the Rhein-Energie-Stadion in Cologne (14th November) will be the first of four international friendlies against some of the best sides the world has to offer, in an effort to test themselves ahead of next year’s World Cup in Russia. The second two games will be played at the beginning of 2018, against Spain in Düsseldorf (23rd March) and against Brazil in Berlin (27th March). The quality of these opponents can be summarized neatly with the amount of major titles they have won: England, France, Spain and Brazil have won eight World Cup titles combined, as well as five European Championships.
Löw: “Two teams of a very high standard”
“These two teams are of a very high standard. They’ll be two great tests that will give us a good view of where we are at ahead of next year’s tournament. This is the strongest England team in years, and they have a wealth of young talent. English football has developed hugely in recent years, which is shown not least by their youth teams winning two major tournaments. France also have some outstanding players, who have received brilliant training, and are also fast and athletic. It’s nice to finish off the year in front of our home fans and be able to show what we’ve got against a top team. We’re looking forward to the challenge and the support of our fans in Cologne.”
In the classic rivalry against England, Die Mannschaft have claimed victory a total of 13 times, while coming away with 6 draws and 16 losses. In their most recent clash, Lukas Podolski scored a goal to remember in what was his last game for his country. Germany also won on their last trip to Wembley after Per Mertesacker scored to make it 1-0. In 28 games against France, Germany have won nine times and drawn six, while losing 13 times. In the semi-final of the Euros on 7th July 2016 in Marseille, the home side triumphed to get through to the final, where they would eventually lose to Portugal.
