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Soccer

Who are Germany's new boys?

As Mark Rodden told us on the Monday Rewind, only a small number of players who were involved dur...



Who are Germany's new boys...
Soccer

Who are Germany's new boys?

As Mark Rodden told us on the Monday Rewind, only a small number of players who were involved during Germany's 6 - 1 thrashing of Ireland in 2012 will be starting when the two sides go head to head in Gelsenkirchen.

While Germany continue to produce a high calibre of player, experience counts for something and that is one of the weaknesses for the world champions who have lost the likes of Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker to retirement, while injuries afflict Mesut Ozil, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira.

Youngsters in the current squad like Schalke's Julian Draxler and Valencia's Shkodran Mustafi (he started against Algeria at the World Cup) may be well known to some degree among Irish audiences, but there are many who have yet to make a name outside the Bundesliga...

 

Antonio Rudiger

3 caps, 0 goals

The 6 foot 3 centre-back started at right full-back in Saturday's 2 - 0 defeat to Poland. Of part-Sierra Leonian heritage, the 21-year-old only got regular Bundesliga game-time at Stuttgart during the season before last.

While Jogi Low used him to plug a gap at full-back in Warsaw, he is a centre-half by trade and started every game he was available for last season.

 

Erik Durm

4 caps, 0 goals

A part of the World Cup-winning squad, he did not play a single minute in Brazil. However, the 22-year-old has become a regular at Borussia Dortmund, getting regular starts and game-time in the Bundesliga and Champions League.

He often pitches up at left-back despite being naturally right-footed and provided three league assists last season.

Matthias Ginter

4 caps, 0 goals

The versatile defender may be called into a defensive midfield position due to the injury absence of Christoph Kramer tomorrow. A summer signing for Borussia Dortmund, the SC Freiburg product was the youngest member of Germany's World Cup squad even though he was not called into action.

 

Karim Bellarabi

1 cap, 0 goals

The 24-year-old winger made his Germany debut on Saturday against Poland on Saturday. He had a chance to give Die Mannschaft the lead in the first half when he cut inside onto his right foot on the left side of the box. However, with a defender behind him, his shot did not curl enough to evade Arsenal and Poland keeper Wojciech Szczesny.

The Berlin native who played the full game in Warsaw has been in good form for Bayer Leverkusen this season, netting three goals and providing four assists in the Bundesliga. He has also featured in the Champions League.

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