The atmosphere is building ahead of the last match in Germany’s European qualifying campaign. The World Champions need just one more point to reach next summer’s tournament in France. Die Mannschaft take on Georgia at home in Leipzig on Sunday evening (20:45 CEST), and they will look to put their last defeat against Ireland behind them by booking their ticket to the EUROs. DFB.de has gathered all of the important facts and figures before the game.
With 19 points, Germany still top qualifying Group D going into the last fixture. Poland and Ireland both sit in second place with 18 points, with the Poles ahead only on goal difference. Scotland are in fourth place with 12 points, whilst Georgia (9) and Gibraltar (0) bring up the rear. These three sides cannot qualify for the European Championship – but Georgia still have an important part to play in the fate of the World Champions.
European Championships: Joachim Löw’s men can book their place at the European Championship in France when they play Georgia tonight. The easiest way to qualify would of course be to win the game, but Die Mannschaft do only need just a point – should they lose, then things get more complicated. Germany will qualify if they lose and there is a winner in the game between Poland and Ireland, or if they lose and Poland and Ireland draw and Germany finish as the third-placed team with the most points across all the groups. If Germany aren’t the best third-placed team, then Löw’s men would go into the play-offs.
Form: Since losing 3-0 to the Czech Republic in October 2007, Germany remain unbeaten in their last 21 home qualifying matches (17 wins, 4 draws). Georgia have won just one of their last 23 competitive away games (4 draws, 18 losses) – a 3-0 win over Gibraltar during this qualifying campaign. Shane Long’s winner for Ireland condemned the World Champions to their first competitive defeat since their 2-0 loss away to Poland in October 2014.
Record I: Germany's EURO qualifier in Dublin will be their 906th international fixture. Since the first game on April 5th 1908, Germany have managed 526 wins, suffered 196 defeats and recorded 183 draws. The goal difference over the entire 905 games – in which a total of 917 players have made appearances – stands at 2,035 goals for and 1,075 against.
Record II: Joachim Löw will take charge of his 126th game as DFB-Team manager since his appointment in August 2006. His record stands at 84 victories, 22 draws and 19 defeats. In these 125 games, Joachim Löw has called up a total of 101 players, 76 of whom he gave their first chance in the national side. The latest of these – Liverpool's Emre Can – made his debut in the 3-1 victory over Poland in September.
Record III: Die Mannschaft will face Georgia for the fourth time in their history this evening. Germany have won all of their previous meetings – a good omen for the crucial game in Leipzig. Löw’s men were 2-0 winners in the reverse fixture in Tiflis in March – Marco Reus gave the World Champions the lead five minutes before the break before Thomas Müller doubled their advantage on the stroke of half time. Georgia have scored just one goal against Germany in four attempts – Temur Ketsbaia found the net in a European qualifying game in September 1995, but could do nothing to stop Germany from beating Georgia 2-1.
Record appearances: The indisputable leader of this statistic is still Lothar Matthäus. The former World Player of the Year made 150 appearances for the DFB-Team in the years 1980 to 2000. In the current squad, Captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is by far the most experienced player with 113 caps.
The atmosphere is building ahead of the last match in Germany’s European qualifying campaign. The World Champions need just one more point to reach next summer’s tournament in France. Die Mannschaft take on Georgia at home in Leipzig on Sunday evening (20:45 CEST), and they will look to put their last defeat against Ireland behind them by booking their ticket to the EUROs. DFB.de has gathered all of the important facts and figures before the game.
With 19 points, Germany still top qualifying Group D going into the last fixture. Poland and Ireland both sit in second place with 18 points, with the Poles ahead only on goal difference. Scotland are in fourth place with 12 points, whilst Georgia (9) and Gibraltar (0) bring up the rear. These three sides cannot qualify for the European Championship – but Georgia still have an important part to play in the fate of the World Champions.
European Championships: Joachim Löw’s men can book their place at the European Championship in France when they play Georgia tonight. The easiest way to qualify would of course be to win the game, but Die Mannschaft do only need just a point – should they lose, then things get more complicated. Germany will qualify if they lose and there is a winner in the game between Poland and Ireland, or if they lose and Poland and Ireland draw and Germany finish as the third-placed team with the most points across all the groups. If Germany aren’t the best third-placed team, then Löw’s men would go into the play-offs.
Form: Since losing 3-0 to the Czech Republic in October 2007, Germany remain unbeaten in their last 21 home qualifying matches (17 wins, 4 draws). Georgia have won just one of their last 23 competitive away games (4 draws, 18 losses) – a 3-0 win over Gibraltar during this qualifying campaign. Shane Long’s winner for Ireland condemned the World Champions to their first competitive defeat since their 2-0 loss away to Poland in October 2014.
Record I: Germany's EURO qualifier in Dublin will be their 906th international fixture. Since the first game on April 5th 1908, Germany have managed 526 wins, suffered 196 defeats and recorded 183 draws. The goal difference over the entire 905 games – in which a total of 917 players have made appearances – stands at 2,035 goals for and 1,075 against.
Record II: Joachim Löw will take charge of his 126th game as DFB-Team manager since his appointment in August 2006. His record stands at 84 victories, 22 draws and 19 defeats. In these 125 games, Joachim Löw has called up a total of 101 players, 76 of whom he gave their first chance in the national side. The latest of these – Liverpool's Emre Can – made his debut in the 3-1 victory over Poland in September.
Record III: Die Mannschaft will face Georgia for the fourth time in their history this evening. Germany have won all of their previous meetings – a good omen for the crucial game in Leipzig. Löw’s men were 2-0 winners in the reverse fixture in Tiflis in March – Marco Reus gave the World Champions the lead five minutes before the break before Thomas Müller doubled their advantage on the stroke of half time. Georgia have scored just one goal against Germany in four attempts – Temur Ketsbaia found the net in a European qualifying game in September 1995, but could do nothing to stop Germany from beating Georgia 2-1.
Record appearances: The indisputable leader of this statistic is still Lothar Matthäus. The former World Player of the Year made 150 appearances for the DFB-Team in the years 1980 to 2000. In the current squad, Captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is by far the most experienced player with 113 caps.
Record goalscorer: On the never ending list of Germany’s international goalscorers, Miroslav Klose sits at the top with 71 goals ahead of the legendary Gerd Müller with 68. Müller however only played 62 games, while Klose retired with 137 caps. The current squad’s top scorer is Thomas Müller with 30. He’s closely followed by Schweinsteiger with 23 and Andre Schürrle on 20 goals.
Kits: Just like in the game in Dublin, Germany will wear their classic white home strip against Georgia.
Referees: Czech referee Pavel Kravolec will take charge of the game at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. The 38-year-old refereed four games with German involvement in last season’s Champions League. This season, he took charge of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s 3-0 loss away to Sevilla, and even awarded three penalties against the Bundesliga side. Kravolec’s assistants will be his compatriot Martin Wilczek and the Slovakian Roman Slysko, whilst the fourth official is Tomas Mokrusch of the Czech Republic.
