Team News
Bastian Schweinsteiger is suspended after picking up yet another yellow card last week. Miroslav Klose is out due to a long term injury. Sven Bender has returned to the squad after partly recovering from flu; he had been bedridden for an entire week due to illness. His brother Lars Bender is out due to a hip problem. Julian Draxler picked up an injury on Friday and is no longer in the squad as a result. Joachim Löw has called up two additional players to his squad- veteran Marcell Jansen and rising star Patrick Hermann.
Marco Reus will return to the squad after serving out his suspension. Holger Badstuber continues to be out due to a long term injury problem. Mats Hummels is also out due to a niggling ankle problem. Mario Gomez is a slight doubt due to a thigh problem he picked up in training. Kazakhstan meanwhile has no such injury worries.
Analysis
Germany put in an eye catching but slightly wobbly display on Friday against the Kazakhs. The return of Bastian Schweinsteiger solidified the center of the park allowing the attackers to roam free. Mesut Özil and Thomas Müller combined to great effect various times. The introduction of Ulan Konysbaev after the hour mark though made the Kazakhs more threatening. The crossbar rattled but they were not able to score. Instead, Müller ended up adding to the wonderful strikes of Schweinsteiger and Mario Götze.
Joachim Löw also tried a formation without a striker in that game; he used a false nine. Löw’s love of attacking midfielders always led to speculation that he would try this formation sooner rather than later. It worked in its first test, making fans wonder whether Germany needs to add the services of Stefan Kiessling to their squad.
Previous Meetings
Kazakhstan 0-3 Germany (22nd March 2013)
Germany 4-0 Kazakhstan (26th March 2011)
Kazakhstan 0-3 Germany (12th October 2010)
Previous Matches
Kazakhstan 0-3 Germany (22nd March 2013)
France 1-2 Germany (6th February 2013)
Netherlands 0-0 Germany (14th November 2012)
Germany 4-4 Sweden (16th October 2012)
Republic of Ireland 1-6 Germany (12th October 2012)
Kazakhstan 0-3 Germany (22nd March 2013)
Moldova 1-3 Kazakhstan (6th February 2012)
Austria 4-0 Kazakhstan (16th October 2012)
Kazakhstan 0-0 Austria (12th October 2012)
Sweden 2-0 Kazakhstan (11th September 2012)
Prediction
Germany 3-1 Kazakhstan
