For Germany, it is time to start fresh ahead of important upcoming UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying. Life after the World Cup has been hard for the Germans; they sit behind rivals Poland in their qualifying group on the same points as the Republic of Ireland and Scotland. A good friendly result against Australia might give them the boost needed to go ahead and do well in qualifying. As far as trust in the manager is concerned, the Germans are sticking to the tried and tested. Joachim Löw, the man who led them to a first major tournament win last year since Euro 96 is now in charge of taking them to Russia in 2018 as well.
As far as the squad is concerned, the coach has squeezed two important names in without really allowing anyone to take notice. Holger Badstuber and Ilkay Gündogan are both in the squad for this one and both are likely to play. Gündogan is so highly rated that his name was put ahead of Bastian Schweinsteiger by many in 2012. Badstuber was a permanent fixture in the German side which went to the Euro 2012 semifinal. Both players will perhaps like to forget the injuries they sustained at the end of 2012 (Badstuber) and in 2013 (Gündogan) and move on. At the moment, Löw might appreciate the presence of Badstuber. He does not exactly make the calamitous errors which Mats Hummels sometimes does and is capable of playing the ball out of the back. He might even set up an all Bayern central defensive partnership just as a test with Jerome Boateng and Badstuber. A three man defense is also likely.
In their previous meeting in Mönchengladbach, Australia surprising won 1-2 in 2011 in an International Friendly. Their coach Ange Postecogolu is hoping that the Australians have something to cheer for in Germany again in Kaiserslautern. This is what he had to say according to FIFA's official website:
"For both countries it's an opportunity to build on recent success and it's a chance to see how we measure up against the world's best. There will be a lot of Australians in Germany coming to watch, so we hope to give them something to cheer about."
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