Topic: German National Football Team.

[Corkboy]

Then you have players who have fewer than ten caps and/or are recent call-ups

Have you left out Schurrle, 20, of Leverkusen? Him and Gotze were the first players to play for Germany who were born in reunified Germany, or so says wiki. Time flies.

[rafathegaffa83]

Have you left out Schurrle, 20, of Leverkusen? Him and Gotze were the first players to play for Germany who were born in reunified Germany, or so says wiki. Time flies.

Yeah just realized I forgot about him. Another to add to the incredible list of talent

[Fuschimuschi]

Surprised to see Mertesacker out of your starting 11. He's at ~75 caps and had a pretty good WC. Is Badstuber really that good? Just curious.

He had a terrible 2010/11 season and was injured quite a bit. Right now people wonder if he's in a decline already. He will have to shine at Arsenal to replace Hummels/Boateng/Badstuber.

Badstuber is still young, he certainly has room to improve and looked very solid so far, especially against Villareal.

Löw won't start Schmelzer at LB, as long as Lahm plays ont he left for Bayern he will also start there for the German NT. We don't have quality RBs sadly so I guess we'll see Boateng or Höwedes there.

[BvB09]

I'd love to see Hummels - Höwedes as CB's. Badstuber is average to be honest and Mertesacker is horrible! Way too slow. But it's already been said, Lahm will play as a LB and we don't have quality RB's, so Höwedes is going to play there...

[RMKirk77]

I'd love to see Hummels - Höwedes as CB's. Badstuber is average to be honest and Mertesacker is horrible! Way too slow. But it's already been said, Lahm will play as a LB and we don't have quality RB's, so Höwedes is going to play there...

What about Schmelzer at LB?

[BvB09]

What about Schmelzer at LB?

He's solid, but not good enough imo. He didn't convince me (and more important, he couldn't convince Löw) during his 5 appearances so far. He's great for Dortmund though.

[jackh]

How are the Germans shaping up after the international/winter break, then?

Their last game before New Year was the 3-0 victory over the Netherlands - they lined up with Neuer, Boateng, Mertesacker, Badstuber, Aogo, Kroos, Khedira, Ozil, Muller, Klose, Podolski.

They faced France recently - using Wiese, Boateng, Hummels, Badstuber, Aogo, Kroos, Khedira, Ozil, Reus, Klose, Shurrle.

Without being an expert, I'd have expected that Neuer, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Ozil, and Muller are guarantees for starting positions for the Euros.  A  big decision will have to be made to choose between Klose/Gomez and, similarly, Podolski/Gotze.  Kroos will be used a lot but mostly as cover for any of the trio in midfield.  Lots to consider with the fullbacks - where to prefer Lahm, and whether to prefer Boateng or Aogo?  How will Mertesacker's injury affect things - you might have expected him to partner Badstuber but, in his absence, there are candidates such as Howedes, Hummels, and Boateng to choose between.  In addition, can Schmelzer, Reus, Schurrle, or either of the Bender twins make a bid for a place in the team?

I don't follow the Bundesliga as closely as I'd like to - how has the players' form been over the previous four months and am I making any false assumptions?  Are there any (even) young(er) stars on the horizon who could make a spring-time claim for a place?

[BvB09]

Are there any (even) young(er) stars on the horizon who could make a spring-time claim for a place?

Julian Draxler could make the Euro-squad this summer but I doubt it. Löw said that there won't be any surprising nominations for the upcoming tournament or something like that. So I don't expect any. May be Cacau will be replaced by Mike Hanke, but that's about it.