Third in their qualifying group, Germany has been anything but impressive following their World Cup victory in Brazil. Yet, their playing style has not changed. Germany's situation is not all too different from that of Borussia Dortmund. They have usually outplayed the opposition; however, they have given away a few opportunities on the counterattack and on setpieces which have come to haunt them. In hindsight, the victory over Scotland, although by a margin of one goal, was very important.
Thomas Müller struck twice in that match. However, the Bayern youth product is not a striker. He is not exactly a player of the Miro Klose mold. Germany miss a striker in the purest sense of the word. Mario Gomez was supposed to be a somewhat natural successor. Unfortunately, his career in Italy with Fiorentina has been injury ravaged. He needs plenty of support to become the striker he was in his Bayern and Stuttgart days.
Mario Götze is not fit for that role up front either. Many will point to his goal scoring track record in Bayern. However, he has a striker in the form of Robert Lewandowski freeing up space for him at club levell. Lewandowski played the same role for Poland; he was very important when the Poles beat Germany by two goals, inflicting Germany's first defeat in European Championship qualifiers since a loss to the Czechs after qualification was secured prior to Euro 2008.
Germany' next problem is obviously Philipp Lahm's absence. Lahm held up one side of the defense and could switch over to the other if needed. Without Lahm, Joachim Löw is devoid of both a right back and a left back. He is yet to decide on a permanent solution to either flank as well. Also in defense, Mats Hummels' form has been rather poor for Dortmund, giving Löw another unnecessary headache.
The absence of his preferred double pivot of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira means that the German coach might perhaps look to change his team's style temporarily. He has tried to impose added defensive duties on Christoph Kramer and Toni Kroos. While both Kramer and Kroos are very good players, neither of them are the leaders which Schweinsteiger or Khedira is during times of trouble.
Germany have never met Gibraltar. Gibraltar is yet to score in their qualifiers so far. Can Germany pick up three points in this match? Interested in learning more about Euro 2016 Qualifying? Check out our Euro 2016 Qualifying Page.
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