After the 2-0 defeat to Poland at the weekend, the Germany national team will be hoping to make amends in their third qualifier against Ireland on Tuesday (20:45 CEST). Head Coach Joachim Löw and Julian Draxler spoke to the media today.
JOACHIM LÖW ON...
... the Poland game: We well organised and restricted them early on as well as creating plenty of our own chances. We spoke about consequences – we need to convert out chances.
... the personnel: Only Christoph Kramer is unavailable. He’s headed home with illness, so either Rudy or Ginter will replace him. We could mix things up offensively.
... Karim Bellarabi: I don’t know my full team yet, but Bellarabi will start because he impressed me, especially in one on one situations.
... the Irish team: We expect it to be similar to the Poland game. They are tough and similar to the Poles. Keane has plenty of experience and a goalscorer. McGeady is a tricky winger who will cause us problems. They currently have six points and, like us, want to qualify for the tournament in France.
... full-backs: I will be patient with them because we lost a world-class player in Philipp Lahm. Erik Durm has plenty of potential – his positional play is good and he is quick. He did make a few too many mistakes in the Poland game though. Toni Rüdiger was steady but will need more time.
... calling up a replacement: I’m not going to call up someone just for the Ireland game. There will be some different players in the squad for the games against Gibraltar and Spain in November. The same goes for the matches in March.
After the 2-0 defeat to Poland at the weekend, the Germany national team will be hoping to make amends in their third qualifier against Ireland on Tuesday (20:45 CEST). Head Coach Joachim Löw and Julian Draxler spoke to the media today.
JOACHIM LÖW ON...
... the Poland game: We well organised and restricted them early on as well as creating plenty of our own chances. We spoke about consequences – we need to convert out chances.
... the personnel: Only Christoph Kramer is unavailable. He’s headed home with illness, so either Rudy or Ginter will replace him. We could mix things up offensively.
... Karim Bellarabi: I don’t know my full team yet, but Bellarabi will start because he impressed me, especially in one on one situations.
... the Irish team: We expect it to be similar to the Poland game. They are tough and similar to the Poles. Keane has plenty of experience and a goalscorer. McGeady is a tricky winger who will cause us problems. They currently have six points and, like us, want to qualify for the tournament in France.
... full-backs: I will be patient with them because we lost a world-class player in Philipp Lahm. Erik Durm has plenty of potential – his positional play is good and he is quick. He did make a few too many mistakes in the Poland game though. Toni Rüdiger was steady but will need more time.
... calling up a replacement: I’m not going to call up someone just for the Ireland game. There will be some different players in the squad for the games against Gibraltar and Spain in November. The same goes for the matches in March.
JULIAN DRAXLER ON...
... team spirit: I hope to get the chance to play in front of my home fans. We want to forget the defeat to Poland and pick up three points in the game.
... being able to qualify automatically finishing second in the group: The new rules don’t change anything. The Poland game and we aim to make amends and win the game.
... self confidence: We’re the current World Champions. We need to show the world that we are worthy of the title.
... Karim Bellarabi’s debut: Karim did a lot of good things and had a good debut. If he plays like this again against Ireland, I think he’ll score.
... the fact the stadium is yet to sell out: Perhaps it’s currently more interesting to watch Di Matteo’s training sessions. We love playing in front of a full-house. If it isn’t, then we’ll play as well as we can to ensure the next game does sell out.
... his readiness to start: Against Poland my body wasn’t totally ready, I wasn’t totally fit. If the Head Coach asks, I am fit and ready to face Ireland.
