Preview of the Germany-Luxembourg match
There is little margin for error for Germany next week. Julian Nagelsmann’s team must win both games if they are to remain in the race for direct qualification for next summer’s World Cup finals.
Their 2-0 defeat in Slovakia last month – the country’s first away defeat in WCQ – left them firmly behind the eight in Group A and six points are desperately needed from games against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland.
Luxembourg welcome the visitors to Sinsheim tomorrow evening before Die Mannschaft take on Michael O’Neill’s men in Belfast on Monday.
On paper, the former seems by far the easiest and former German captain Lothar Matthaus demands a victory and an element of continuity from Nagelsmann.
After experimenting with 4-2-3-1 in Slovakia with disastrous consequences, the former Bayern coach switched to 3-4-2-1 against Northern Ireland, earning a 3-1 victory in Cologne.
Matthaus told Bild: “The time for experiments must finally be over. Both in terms of tactics and personnel. The team must get used to it. Even the match against Luxembourg must be used for this – because the processes can also be repeated against weaker opponents.”
“I would recommend the 3-4-2-1 system with two full-backs, similar to Bayer Leverkusen’s successful formation under Xabi Alonso. Leroy Sané and Chris Führich, who can play as wingers, are rarely used at the moment. And Serge Gnabry has recently become a central player and feels more comfortable there.”
Luxembourg has not yet taken a single point but pushed Slovakia all the way in their last outing. It looked like they had done enough to earn a point when ĽubomÃr Tupta popped up in the final minute to give Slovakia a vital 1-0 victory.
Team news for Germany vs Luxembourg
Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade trained with the rest of the squad today after arriving late to camp with a bad cold.
Woltemade has scored four times for the Premier League side since arriving from Stuttgart, but is yet to find the target in four appearances for the national team.
Jamie Leweling, however, missed today’s training and was not selected for the match in Sinsheim.
Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, playmaker Jamal Musiala, defender Antonio Rüdiger and attackers Kai Havertz and Tim Kleindienst are all missing due to injuries.
Progrès Niederkorn’s Kenan Avdusinovic could make his Luxembourg debut while Christopher Martins is back in the squad after injury.
Mica Pinto was not called up as he is without a club and lacking fitness while Danel Sinani is suspended.
Predicted line-up for Germany vs Luxembourg
Germany: Baumann; Anton, Tah, Koch; Too bad, Kimmich, Goretzka, space; Gnabry, Wirtz; Woltemade
Luxembourg: Moris; Jans, Mahmutovic, Corcians, Carlson; Olesen, Barriere; Additionally, Cruz, Buckle; Dardari
How to watch Germany vs Luxembourg: TV and online streams
Germany vs Luxembourg kicks off at 7.45pm UK time. It is not shown on television in the UK but can be streamed via the Amazon Prime PPV service.
Stats for Germany vs Luxembourg
- Germany won all three competitive meetings against Luxembourg, scoring 16 goals in the process
- Julian Nagelsmann’s win rate in his first 25 matches as national team coach is just 52%.
Prediction for Germany vs Luxembourg
