Germany takes on Kazakhstan in Kaiserslautern on Saturday. The Germans lead the group on 12 points.
Germany tops their group with a five point advantage over second placed Austria. The Austrians have a game in hand. The story for the Kazakhs is quite different. They are bottom of the group with nothing to show for their efforts so far.
The Kazakhs were resilient in the first half against the Germans in Astana. They did not allow the Germans to settle in and created decent chances themselves. In the second half, when Miroslav Klose broke the deadlock, the floodgates opened. Substitute Mario Gomez scored a second while Lukas Podolski added a third.
Joachim Low’s side has a very interesting member in it this time. Andre Schuerrle has been included in the squad. He is a lanky forward who has caught the eyes of the supporters of Mainz this season. His talents have not gone unnoticed and Bayer Leverkusen has signed him for next season.
Low’s main problem isn’t really Schuerrle’s position. The forward position is currently Miroslav Klose’s. Klose has reached a special milestone this month. He earned his first cap in Kaiserslautern 10 years ago for Germany against Albania. Loew trusts his front man and will perhaps hand him a starting berth again. Low’s main problem is at left-back. Germany hasn’t had a consistent player at left-back since Philipp Lahm switched to the right.
Dennis Aogo, Holger Badstuber, Marcell Jansen and Jerome Boateng can all play there but aren’t consistent. The only consistent left-back is the young Marcel Schmelzer of Borussia Dortmund. However, only Loew knows who will start at left-back on Saturday. Loew has dropped Heiko Westermann from the squad. Per Mertesacker is always part of Germany’s central defence. However, who will be his partner?
Mats Hummels, one of the Bundesliga’s best defenders is in the squad. Holger Badstuber is also an option for central defence. However, the spot will most probably go to Arne Friedrich. Friedrich is ready for action with the national side. He missed the earlier qualifiers due to an injury which kept him out of action for a lengthy period of time.
As far as the injuries are concerned, Loew has a full squad to choose from with the exception of Rene Adler who pulled out after the squad was named. Germany did not call up a replacement. Loew has left out a regular in Marko Marin. Kevin Grosskreutz did not receive a call up as well.
As far as the Kazakhs are concerned, Andrei Karpovich, Aleksandr Kirov and Samat Smakov are out injured. They have a new coach at their helm. Miroslav Beranek took over as head coach following the departure of Bernd Storck. Kazakhstan is yet to score in the qualifiers and have lost all their games by at least a two goal margin. The Germans meanwhile have scored 13 goals and conceded just once in this campaign.
Here are the squads for the match:
Germany:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (FC Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (SV Werder Bremen).
Defenders: Dennis Aogo (Hamburger SV), Holger Badstuber (FC Bayern München), Jerome Boateng (Manchester City FC), Arne Friedrich (VfL Wolfsburg), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Per Mertesacker (SV Werder Bremen), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München).
Midfielders: Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund), Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid CF), Toni Kroos (FC Bayern München), Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München), Mesut Özil (Real Madrid CF), Lukas Podolski (1. FC Köln), Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern München), Christian Träsch (VfB Stuttgart).
Forwards: Mario Gomez (FC Bayern München), Miroslav Klose (FC Bayern München), André Schürrle (1. FSV Mainz 05).
Kazakhstan:
Goalkeepers: Aleksandr Mokin (FC Shakhter Karagandy), Andrei Sidelnikov (FC Aktobe), David Loria (FC Irtysh Pavlodar).
Defenders: Aleksandr Kislitsyn (FC Tobol Kostanay), Farkhadbek Irismetov (FC Ordabasy Shymkent), Mikhail Rozhkov (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Renat Abdulin (FC Vostok), Vladislav Chernyshov (FC Irtysh Pavlodar), Dmitri Shomko (FC Irtysh Pavlodar), Anton Chichulin (FC Aktobe), Kairat Nurdauletov (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Yuri Logvinenko (FC Aktobe).
Midfielders: Azat Nurgaliyev (FC Ordabasy Shymkent), Ulan Konysbayev (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Sergei Skorykh (FC Zhetysu Taldykorgan), Kazbek Geteriyev (FC Zhemchuzhina Sochi), Maksim Azovski (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Zhambyl Kukeyev (FC Shakhter Karagandy), Maksat Baizhanov (FC Shakhter Karagandy), Evgeni Averchenko (FC Aktobe).
Forwards: Nurbol Zhumaskaliyev (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Sergei Ostapenko (FC Zhetysu Taldykorgan), Sergei Khizhnichenko (FC Shakhter Karagandy), Sergey Lisenkov (FC Aktobe).
If recent results are anything to go by, Germany should take all three points without too many worries.
Prediction: Germany 2-0 Kazakhstan
The Kazakhs were resilient in the first half against the Germans in Astana. They did not allow the Germans to settle in and created decent chances themselves. In the second half, when Miroslav Klose broke the deadlock, the floodgates opened. Substitute Mario Gomez scored a second while Lukas Podolski added a third.
Joachim Low’s side has a very interesting member in it this time. Andre Schuerrle has been included in the squad. He is a lanky forward who has caught the eyes of the supporters of Mainz this season. His talents have not gone unnoticed and Bayer Leverkusen has signed him for next season.
Low’s main problem isn’t really Schuerrle’s position. The forward position is currently Miroslav Klose’s. Klose has reached a special milestone this month. He earned his first cap in Kaiserslautern 10 years ago for Germany against Albania. Loew trusts his front man and will perhaps hand him a starting berth again. Low’s main problem is at left-back. Germany hasn’t had a consistent player at left-back since Philipp Lahm switched to the right.
Dennis Aogo, Holger Badstuber, Marcell Jansen and Jerome Boateng can all play there but aren’t consistent. The only consistent left-back is the young Marcel Schmelzer of Borussia Dortmund. However, only Loew knows who will start at left-back on Saturday. Loew has dropped Heiko Westermann from the squad. Per Mertesacker is always part of Germany’s central defence. However, who will be his partner?
Mats Hummels, one of the Bundesliga’s best defenders is in the squad. Holger Badstuber is also an option for central defence. However, the spot will most probably go to Arne Friedrich. Friedrich is ready for action with the national side. He missed the earlier qualifiers due to an injury which kept him out of action for a lengthy period of time.
As far as the injuries are concerned, Loew has a full squad to choose from with the exception of Rene Adler who pulled out after the squad was named. Germany did not call up a replacement. Loew has left out a regular in Marko Marin. Kevin Grosskreutz did not receive a call up as well.
As far as the Kazakhs are concerned, Andrei Karpovich, Aleksandr Kirov and Samat Smakov are out injured. They have a new coach at their helm. Miroslav Beranek took over as head coach following the departure of Bernd Storck. Kazakhstan is yet to score in the qualifiers and have lost all their games by at least a two goal margin. The Germans meanwhile have scored 13 goals and conceded just once in this campaign.
Here are the squads for the match:
Germany:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (FC Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (SV Werder Bremen).
Defenders: Dennis Aogo (Hamburger SV), Holger Badstuber (FC Bayern München), Jerome Boateng (Manchester City FC), Arne Friedrich (VfL Wolfsburg), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Per Mertesacker (SV Werder Bremen), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München).
Midfielders: Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund), Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid CF), Toni Kroos (FC Bayern München), Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München), Mesut Özil (Real Madrid CF), Lukas Podolski (1. FC Köln), Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern München), Christian Träsch (VfB Stuttgart).
Forwards: Mario Gomez (FC Bayern München), Miroslav Klose (FC Bayern München), André Schürrle (1. FSV Mainz 05).
Kazakhstan:
Goalkeepers: Aleksandr Mokin (FC Shakhter Karagandy), Andrei Sidelnikov (FC Aktobe), David Loria (FC Irtysh Pavlodar).
Defenders: Aleksandr Kislitsyn (FC Tobol Kostanay), Farkhadbek Irismetov (FC Ordabasy Shymkent), Mikhail Rozhkov (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Renat Abdulin (FC Vostok), Vladislav Chernyshov (FC Irtysh Pavlodar), Dmitri Shomko (FC Irtysh Pavlodar), Anton Chichulin (FC Aktobe), Kairat Nurdauletov (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Yuri Logvinenko (FC Aktobe).
Midfielders: Azat Nurgaliyev (FC Ordabasy Shymkent), Ulan Konysbayev (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Sergei Skorykh (FC Zhetysu Taldykorgan), Kazbek Geteriyev (FC Zhemchuzhina Sochi), Maksim Azovski (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Zhambyl Kukeyev (FC Shakhter Karagandy), Maksat Baizhanov (FC Shakhter Karagandy), Evgeni Averchenko (FC Aktobe).
Forwards: Nurbol Zhumaskaliyev (FC Lokomotiv Astana), Sergei Ostapenko (FC Zhetysu Taldykorgan), Sergei Khizhnichenko (FC Shakhter Karagandy), Sergey Lisenkov (FC Aktobe).
If recent results are anything to go by, Germany should take all three points without too many worries.
Prediction: Germany 2-0 Kazakhstan
