Löw "doesn’t plan on making many changes"

The World Cup winners have arrived in Dublin. One day before the European Championship qualifier against Ireland, Joachim Löw and Mats Hummels have answered questions at a press conference. Both showed their will to win and to round off the qualification campaign well. We wrote up all the highlights of the press conference.

Joachim Löw on…

…the preparation for the game: It’s not ideal that we have to play on Thursday and Sunday, considering a lot of the players played in the league on Sunday. It certainly had repercussions on our preparation and training for the Ireland game. Several players needed a day off to rest, so we worked in two separate groups. One was more easy-going and the other trained a bit harder. I think we went into the September games thinking we would win automatically. We are certain that we can produce a good performance tomorrow and everyone except Podolski is available to play. We go into tomorrow with a sense of positivity.

…the upcoming opponents: We are expecting to play a team who defend well and work hard defensively. It hasn’t been easy in the last few games against them, and we think it will be even harder than against Scotland. They always make it extremely hard for their opposition and play physically. Their goal is to qualify and they have a good chance of getting third place, so they will fight, like the Scots, to the last minute. We must play to our strengths and keep to our game plan.

…the possible starting eleven: There will not be many changes. The team played very well against Poland and Scotland. I will have think about a few positions but nothing major.

…the game between Bayern and Dortmund: The atmosphere in the team is very good. For the players, it was over very quickly. We always have this problem, but the players get on with it with no issues. When they are with the national teams they are focussed on different things and motivated. They all get on very well with each other. They can get over losses and move on.

…defensive changes: There may be opportunities to change around these positions, and give some other players some young experience. Jonas Hector is still very young and has played well in the national team so far. Matthias Ginter and Antonio Rüdiger are other examples. We can’t expect them to replace world class players like Philipp Lahm, but they need time and must learn. I don’t have a problem with giving them a chance and trying new things.

…Mario Götze: Mario Götze has shown in the last few games just how important he is. There may have been a time when he wasn’t happy at Bayern, but it was internally spoken about and I know that Pep Guardiola likes to rotate his players so as not to burden anyone in particular. I think he did very well with both of his goals against Poland, he emulated a striker with the confidence he showed. I have always said that there is no doubt about him, he fits into our game plan very well.

…on the squad for the European Championship France 2016: We are only in October now, and a lot can change in the course of a season. There is a chance for a lot of players to step up. I look forward to every good performance. We have a lot of young players and Mario Gomez is also playing very well in Turkey. There are plenty of players we can look at, and we will have to see how well they get on.

Mats Hummels on…

…the game against Ireland: I’m expecting a few different things from the game. The atmosphere will be great inside the stadium, and we will come up against a very passionate team. The game will be similar to the one against Scotland.

…the return of Marco Reus: It’s very important for the team that he’s back. I am happy for him because he has missed some important games through injury. We don’t even need to talk about how good he is. He has a great goalscoring record and is an essential part of our team.

…on Jerome Boateng: I am a big fan of him and the way he plays football. I think he is one of the best defenders in the world. He plays extraordinarily and is a bonus for any team.