sábado, 8 de septiembre de 2012

04/09/2012Football: Germany eye Brazil berth after Euro 2012 failure - Expatica Germany

Coach Joachim Loew has said it is up to his squad to impress him after their Euro 2012 semi-final defeat when Germany take on minnows Faroe Islands in Friday's opening World Cup 2014 qualifier.

After Germany's bid to win Euro 2012 failed when Loew's young side was beaten 2-1 by Italy in the semi-finals, the Germans face Faroe Islands in Hanover on Friday, then Austria in Vienna on Tuesday, in qualifiers for Brazil.

"We want to win both games and set an example," Loew said after his 10-man team were beaten 3-1 at home by Argentina in a friendly last month.

Faroe Islands, an archipelago between Norway and Iceland, are 151 places below Germany, according to FIFA's world rankings, and are not expected to present Loew's team with too many problems.

With Sweden, Austria, Kazakhstan and Republic of Ireland also in Group C, only finishing the qualifying campaign top of the table will impress Loew, who is under pressure with his contract running until the 2014 World Cup.

With Germany playing further qualifiers against Sweden and Ireland in October, Loew said it is up to his present squad to impress him.

"There are no guarantees and perquisites in our team," said Loew, who is without Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gomez as the pair return from injury.

"We have moved on in the last two years, the competition has grown.

"Everyone has to prove themselves."

Borussia Dortmund's star midfielders Marco Reus and Mario Goetze are likely to feature in Hanover and Vienna, while Bayer Leverkusen's Andre Schurrle is also one to watch.

The backbone of Loew's squad is six players from Bayern Munich with five from league and cup winners Dortmund, but Loew says he wants to see the Germans achieve high levels of consistency and maintain their reputation for attacking football.

"There has been enough talk, now we want to show what we are capable of," said Loew, who has come in for criticism after the failed Euro 2012 campaign.

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