Germany vs. Liechtenstein Volkswagen Arena
Kickoff 19:45 UTC
Guten Tag! Welcome to DW’s buildup to and live coverage of Germany’s World Cup 2022 qualifier against Liechtenstein.
Have Germany qualified for the World Cup yet?
Yes. With eight of ten matches played, Germany lead Group J with 21 points, eight clear of second-place Romania, and secured qualification for the World Cup in Qatar with a 4-0 win away at North Macedonia last time out.
But while Hansi Flick’s side have nothing left to play for against bottom club Liechtenstein, second place in the group is still up for grabs, with Romania, North Macedonia and Germany’s next opponents Armenia still in with a theoretical chance of making the playoff round.
Hansi Flick has had injuries and infections to deal with
COVID-19 infection in the Germany squad
The German FA (DFB) revealed on Tuesday that Germany defender Niklas Süle had tested positive for COVID-19 and will go into quarantine along with four of the eight teammates with whom he flew to the team’s training camp in Wolfsburg: Süle’s Bayern Munich teammates Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala, plus Red Bull Salzburg’s Karim Adeyemi.
The other four, who have not been named by the DFB, have been allowed to remain with the national team under “special supervision,” eating at an isolated table and being tested regularly.
Whether the division of Süle’s travel group is due to one quartet being vaccinated and the other not, is as yet unclear, but Hansi Flick told a press conference that, in his opinion, “the quickest way out of the pandemic is to get vaccinated.”
Who is replacing Süle and the others?
With Süle, Kimmich, Gnabry, Musiala and Adeyemi in quarantine and set to miss both games, Flick has called up Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Kevin Volland (Monaco), Maximilian Arnold and Ridle Baku (both Wolfsburg).
“We’ll have completely different lineup, but we’re still well prepared and the aim is to finish the group with a total of 27 points,” said Flick.
Who else is missing?
Paris Saint-Germain forward Julian Draxler has also had to pull out of the squad after picking up an unspecified muscle injury in his right leg in training on Tuesday.
Bayer Leverkusen starlet Florian Wirtz and Freiburg’s Nico Schlotterbeck are also injured.
“We’d imagined things a little differently,” said Flick. “We’re glad we already qualified in October.”
Former Germany head coach Joachim Löw
Farewell, Joachim Löw
Thursday’s game will also act as a farewell to Joachim Löw, who stepped down as German national team coach after Euro 2020.
Löw spent 17 years with the national team, 15 years as head coach, leading Germany to a World Cup title in 2014 and Confederations Cup in 2017.
“The game is a chance to say farewell to Joachim Löw and it will be a special game for all those who played under him,” Flick said. “An opportunity for us all to express our thanks and recognition.”
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