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Joachim Löw will gather his squad in Munich next Monday to begin final preparations for the last two international matches of 2013 – in Milan against European runners-up Italy on 15 November (from 20:45 CET, live on ZDF) and in London against England on 19 November (from 21:00 CET, live on ARD).
The German national team will be put through their paces at Bayern Munich's Säbener Straße training ground on Monday and Tuesday. Löw's team will then have a rare closed-doors training session on Wednesday before flying to Milan on Thursday. Their travels will continue on Saturday as they fly to London and Wembley Stadium for their final match in what has been a successful, high-scoring year.
Germany therefore have two more potentially classic fixtures to face in 2013, first at Milan's San Siro against four-time world champions Italy and then at Wembley against England's Three Lions. The DFB squad will prepare for next year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil by playing two teams who are sure to join Germany in a small group of teams with a chance of winning next year’s tournament.
36 goals in ten qualifying matches
Germany successfully came through World Cup qualification unbeaten and with 28 points, the highest tally in Europe, equalled only by Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands side. However, the Die Nationalmannschaft scored more goals than anyone else, finding the net 36 times in ten qualifiers whilst Team Oranje scored 'only' 34. Germany have so far scored 33 goals in ten matches during 2013.
However, they must now play their eleventh and twelfth internationals as the year approaches its close. A week on Friday, ZDF will broadcast the match against Italy live from the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Italy's largest arena, from 20:45 CET. Then, slightly later than usual at 21:00 CET the following Tuesday, ARD will provide live coverage of the game at Wembley.
Only seven wins from 31 previous meetings with Italy
After three days of preparation in Munich, Löw's team will take a one-hour hop over the Alps and touch down in Milan's Malpensa Airport. The national team will then hold a press conference immediately after arriving at their team hotel, the Principe di Savoia. More than 100 German journalists will be reporting from the hotel, and there will also be huge Italian media interest ahead of a meeting between two illustrious teams with a long – and, from a German perspective, often painful – history.
A long list of previous encounters between the pair includes the legendary World Cup semi-finals in 1970 and 2006, as well as Germany's bitter exit to Italy in the 2012 UEFA European Championship, when Balotelli scored a brace to give Germans nightmares that still linger today. The two teams first squared off in 1923, since when there have been 31 meetings, of which the Azzurri have won 15 compared with only 7 for Germany, a win rate of 22.6 per cent. Germany only have a lower win rate against Brazil (19 per cent).
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Joachim Löw will gather his squad in Munich next Monday to begin final preparations for the last two international matches of 2013 – in Milan against European runners-up Italy on 15 November (from 20:45 CET, live on ZDF) and in London against England on 19 November (from 21:00 CET, live on ARD).
The German national team will be put through their paces at Bayern Munich's Säbener Straße training ground on Monday and Tuesday. Löw's team will then have a rare closed-doors training session on Wednesday before flying to Milan on Thursday. Their travels will continue on Saturday as they fly to London and Wembley Stadium for their final match in what has been a successful, high-scoring year.
Germany therefore have two more potentially classic fixtures to face in 2013, first at Milan's San Siro against four-time world champions Italy and then at Wembley against England's Three Lions. The DFB squad will prepare for next year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil by playing two teams who are sure to join Germany in a small group of teams with a chance of winning next year’s tournament.
36 goals in ten qualifying matches
Germany successfully came through World Cup qualification unbeaten and with 28 points, the highest tally in Europe, equalled only by Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands side. However, the Die Nationalmannschaft scored more goals than anyone else, finding the net 36 times in ten qualifiers whilst Team Oranje scored 'only' 34. Germany have so far scored 33 goals in ten matches during 2013.
However, they must now play their eleventh and twelfth internationals as the year approaches its close. A week on Friday, ZDF will broadcast the match against Italy live from the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Italy's largest arena, from 20:45 CET. Then, slightly later than usual at 21:00 CET the following Tuesday, ARD will provide live coverage of the game at Wembley.
Only seven wins from 31 previous meetings with Italy
After three days of preparation in Munich, Löw's team will take a one-hour hop over the Alps and touch down in Milan's Malpensa Airport. The national team will then hold a press conference immediately after arriving at their team hotel, the Principe di Savoia. More than 100 German journalists will be reporting from the hotel, and there will also be huge Italian media interest ahead of a meeting between two illustrious teams with a long – and, from a German perspective, often painful – history.
A long list of previous encounters between the pair includes the legendary World Cup semi-finals in 1970 and 2006, as well as Germany's bitter exit to Italy in the 2012 UEFA European Championship, when Balotelli scored a brace to give Germans nightmares that still linger today. The two teams first squared off in 1923, since when there have been 31 meetings, of which the Azzurri have won 15 compared with only 7 for Germany, a win rate of 22.6 per cent. Germany only have a lower win rate against Brazil (19 per cent).