Low’s understudies fail to follow the script

JOACHIM LOW supposedly has a pool of some three dozen players from which to pick his final 23 for the World Cup finals in Russia next summer.

That is 36 players who have figured in his squads over the past two years, players who featured in the summer Confederations Cup win, and promising young stars from the European Championship-winning Under-21 side.

The German coach has, compared to Gareth Southgate, an abundance of riches at his disposal. Last night though, Low was robbed by injury and illness of 10 senior players, including Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Toni Kroos and Marco Reus.

So Jogi, as Low is known, was in much the same position as Southgate – for one night anyway – although the Germany manager had said that he was going to experiment anyway.

There were, said Low, some “tough decisions” to make before he selects his final pool. Those decisions may now have become a little more pressing for him.

Last night, Germany dominated possession for long periods, but failed to punish an inexperienced England team.

Germany, unsurprisingly having won all 10 of their qualifiers, are strong favourites for next summer, particularly after winning the Confederations Cup with what was effectively their B team.

Low said all the right things before the game, opining that England are a stronger team than two years ago and less reliant on the long ball.

After an early scare, when Kieran Trippier should have scored, Low’s team settled ominously and Leroy Sane hit the side netting, saw a shot rebound off the underside of the bar and then had one cleared off the line. Timo Werner was three times denied by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Germany, though, had another moment when Tammy Abraham’s deflected shot bounced just wide. For all Low’s assertions about England’s style, it was straight balls over the top that kept catching his team out. Unbeaten since their Euro 2016 semi-final defeat by France, Low’s team definitely did not have it all their own way against a raw England.

After that initial period when they seemed to be overawed, Southgate’s team gave as good as they got.

When the big names return, Germany will be a very different proposition. But last night Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and Co looked like they might need a few more games to get themselves in gear. Germany will though. They always do.