More experimenting for Low
EXPERIMENTING means more than a result for Germany coach Joachim Low although he certainly wouldn’t mind completing a year unbeaten for the first time in his 11-year tenure.
Low will make several changes for the world champions’ last 2017 game tomorrow morning in Cologne, after a 0-0 draw at Wembley against England.
And with only two more friendlies to come – against Spain and Brazil – before he has to pick his provisional World Cup squad, trying things out while he can is imperative for Low.
“I will be putting some things to the test. I want to see how some of our players cope against the best. England and France is our benchmark. I want to see what level they can play at. That, for me, is more important than the result,” Low said.
Germany are unbeaten in 20 matches since losing 2-0 to France in the Euro 2016 semifinals, qualifying with a perfect 10 wins out of 10 for the World Cup in Russia where Low aims to defend the title.
Young talent has emerged since the 2014 title in Brazil, and some of them already impressed by winning this year’s Confederations Cup.
Low has an abundance of of players at his disposal and will have tough choices to make when it comes to his 23-player World Cup squad.
Thus tests like against France with the speedy Kingsley Coman and Kylian Mbappe, and stars such as Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba, are very welcome for Low.
The coach was not fully satisfied in Friday’s Wembley stalemate, and while he said the serious fine-tuning will not come until the pre-Russia training camp, he will want to see an improved attacking performance against Les Bleus.
Midfielders Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira are expected to play after being rested at Wembley, and the 2014 World Cup-winning scorer Mario Goetze is to return after a year on the sidelines with illness.
“Mario Goetze will get a run out on Tuesday, there will be a few changes,” Low said.
Low is also expected to make a change in goal, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Kevin Trapp set to start, while Sandro Wagner and Lars Stindl could play up front alongside Goetze and speedy Leroy Sane. – dpa