Berlin: Germany has secured qualification for Euro 2020, but coach Joachim Loew is running out of time to mould his fledgling team into title contenders before next June’s finals.
Despite dominating possession in Moenchengladbach on Saturday, Loew’s young team struggled against minnows Belarus before two Toni Kroos goals sealed a 4-0 win which confirmed their Euro 2020 qualification. As magazine Kicker pointed out, the victory highlighted the “many obvious sites” under reconstruction.
By Loew’s pre-match admission, “many players still need a few more years to develop”, yet the Euro finals start in seven months. The Germans and Dutch have now qualified from Group C but Tuesday’s final game against Northern Ireland in Frankfurt is far from meaningless for Loew. A victory will put Germany, who won the last of their three European titles in 1996, in the pot of eight group winners when the draw for the finals is made in Bucharest on 30 November. “Now we have a chance to win this group, it’s our goal to win on Tuesday and end up top,” said Loew. “I think I’ll make one or two changes, one or two players who didn’t play (against Belarus) will get a chance.” A deft back-heeled flick into the Belarus net by centre-back Matthias Ginter, a Leon Goretzka strike into the bottom corner and two goals by Toni Kroos sealed Sunday’s win. (AFP)
