Germany: defeating dutch will send message

Germany: defeating dutch will send message

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The Germans, who reached next year's tournament with 10 wins from 10 qualifiers, will have goalkeeper Manuel Neuer back in the squad as well as strikers Miroslav Klose and Marco Reus


after they recovered from injury. Coach Joachim Low will drop some of the changes he introduced for Friday's mediocre 3-3 friendly draw in Ukraine, including a three-man defence that


looked more than shaky. He is likely to start with Bundesliga top scorer Mario Gomez and Klose in a two-pronged attack as part of a 4-4-2 system he has not used in two years. You may like


"This is an extremely serious game. We want to leave a sign that we can take on and beat the very best," Bierhoff told reporters ahead of the game in Hamburg. "We want to


finish the year with a victory and obviously beating the Dutch is always double the fun." Three-times European champions Germany won their last major title at Euro 1996. Last


year's World Cup runners-up Netherlands, who enjoy a healthy and long-standing football rivalry with their neighbours, were jeered by their own fans after being held to a lacklustre 0-0


friendly draw by Switzerland on Friday. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. The Dutch, also through to Euro 2012, will be looking to improve


on their performance on Friday though they will have to do it without key players Robin van Persie and Rafael van der Vaart. The Arsenal captain has been ruled out due to fatigue after


playing the full 90 minutes against the Swiss. "I had a good meeting with [Arsenal boss Arsene] Wenger and we reached agreement he would only play on Friday and after that we would send


him back," Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk told reporters. Van der Vaart suffered a slight hamstring injury. Captain Mark van Bommel and Kevin Strootman should be back from the start. Van


Bommel was rested while Strootman played 24 minutes against the Swiss. Van Marwijk could also use striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who is itching to come back after breaking his nose 10 days


ago. "Things look different for this match but it has only been two weeks since he broke his nose," the Dutch coach said.