Ange wary of German ‘no names’

AUSTRALIA will early tomorrow face a German side almost unrecognisable from that which claimed the World Cup in Brazil three years ago but coach Ange Postecoglou has warned against considering them weakened opposition.

Only Shkodran Mustafi, Matthias Ginter and dangerous PSG winger Julian Draxler from the World Cup-winning squad have been selected for the Confederations Cup campaign in Russia, as Joachim Low looks to experiment in readiness for the defence of their world crown next year.

However, a youthful, talented side will have plenty to prove against the Socceroos.

Eight wins and two draws in their previous 10 matches, scoring 31 goals and conceding just two, shows the Germans to be in commanding form.

“They’re doing the right thing,” Postecoglou said.

“They’ve stated that they want to win a World Cup in 12 months time and this is part of their preparation for it. We’ll be ready for it.

“At the end of the day it’s Germany footballers come tournament time, they always perform well.”

“While others may think there’s some sort of weakened aspect to it, that’s not how we’re approaching it.”

Postecoglou was buoyed by his entire squad taking part in full training over the past week, with Robbie Kruse shaking off a knock to the knee suffered in the recent friendly defeat to Brazil.

Australia need a positive result tomorrow to set the tone for games against Cameroon and Chile over the next week.