Low to make more changes for South Korea clash
World champions Germany’s last-gasp victory over Sweden on Saturday unleashed a wave of euphoria among players and coaching staff but manager Joachim Low said changes would be needed for their final Group F game against South Korea.
The Germans snatched a 2-1 victory over the Swedes in stoppage time and hand themselves a lifeline for a spot in the knockout stage after having suffered a shock opening loss to Mexico.
The Mexicans are top of the group on six points with Sweden and Germany on three and Korea still pointless.
The Germans must ideally now beat South Korea in their final group game to maintain their chances of advancing as one of the top two teams in the group but will need again to make changes to their line-up.
Low made four changes for their game against Sweden, leaving out Mesut Ozil among others, but Jerome Boateng’s red card, Sebastian Rudy’s broken nose and fatigue among his players will see him field a different starting XI on Wednesday.
“My players were tired at the end of the game and Marco [Reus] had cramps as early as 10 minutes before the end,” Low told reporters.
“Jerome Boateng is suspended and Sebastian Rudy broke his nose. We will need a couple of days to recover. Rudy could potentially play on Wednesday but we will need to wait and see.”
Boateng’s absence is especially bitter for the Germans with fellow central defender Mats Hummels having missed the Sweden game with a neck injury.
Low said he was hopeful Hummels, who has not trained in the past few days, would be back in time for the game against South Korea to partner Antonio Rudiger at the heart of defence. “Mats is likely to play and if he does then we have another option in defence,” Low said.
Low’s unusual line-up on Saturday did not include playmaker Ozil, who had played 26 consecutive matches at World Cups and European Championships.
His lacklustre form against Mexico, however, and the furore caused ahead of the tournament by a picture he took with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had worked against him.
It is unlikely he will start, with Germany needing to be as agile and aggressive against the Koreans as they were against Sweden.
Apart from Reus, chances for a spot are also big for Julian Brandt, the attacking midfielder who has twice come on as a substitute to give much-needed impulses.