Germany face Scotland in Glasgow on Monday with the hosts desperate to win three points to keep alive their qualification hopes for the 2016 European Championships in France
German manager Joachim L w has insisted that Scotland’s unexpected 1-0 loss to Georgia will make them more dangerous opponents when his side take on Gordon Strachan’s men at Hampden Park on Monday. The 55-year-old also expressed his eagerness to play at the famous stadium in Scotland, having never competed at the venue before as a player or a manager.
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Meanwhile, Scotland boss Gordon Strachan is confident his side has what it takes to upset the world champions, but acknowledges that the attacking play in the final third must improve in relation to the performance against Georgia to stand a chance of victory in this Group D encounter.
Joachim L w wary of Scotland treat as Germany prepare to take a step closer towards qualification
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Scotland, Germany coach Joachim L w opined that a wounded Scotland side could prove to be dangerous opposition for his team, who currently sit top of Group D with 16 points.
L w is quoted by Sky Sports as saying: “I don’t think Scotland losing to Georgia will be of any advantage to us, not in the least. That won’t do their fighting spirit or passion any damage at all.
“I know that the squad and the coach will be disappointed about that result, but, if anything, it will make them even more dangerous. I think they will quickly put their Georgia defeat aside and they will want to reboot themselves and their team.
“Whenever they are up against elite opponents, Germany, England or other big-time opposition, they give everything they’ve got from the first minute to the last. The crowd will get behind their team as one man especially as Scotland are fighting their last chance in many eyes.
“They have fallen behind Poland and Ireland, but they will give everything they have got.”
The 55-year-old also added that he was looking forward to playing at Hampden Park, having never done so in his capacity as a player or a manager. “Going to Hampden is a first for me,” the Germany manager said.
“I haven’t been fortunate enough to go there as a player or coach. I’m looking forward to it, with the unique atmosphere, pride and passion of not just the Scottish players but the Scottish public.”
Strachan confident his Scotland side has what it takes to get three points
Meanwhile, Scotland manager Gordon Strachan believes his side has what it takes to win three points against Germany and keep alive their hopes of qualification for the European Championships next summer.
Addressing a pre-match press conference, Strachan said (via Sky Sports): “We will look forward to this wonderful challenge of playing the world champions. The players give me hope and playing here gives me hope.
“They’re used to it. They’re footballers and they’ve never gone through their careers and it’s been easy. They’ve been getting knock-backs since they were 15 years old and that’s why they’re here.
“We will do it together. These are the kinds of people we need. Everybody has trained well and it shows that they are over their disappointment.”
The 58-year-old added that his side would have to improve in terms of their attacking play in the final third to stand a chance of upsetting their more fancied Group D opponents. “It has to improve but only in the final third,” Strachan said, responding to a question about his side’s attacking play.
“What we cannot have is a repeat of what happened in the final third because we could have done better there. They played the way I wanted them to play apart from the final third. We didn’t play as well as I like there because we had to play passes into feet and around the corners because they have got three such big centre-backs. We couldn’t just throw balls in there.”
A defeat against Germany and a positive result for the Republic of Ireland would all but end Scotland’s chances with just three games left to play. An expectant Hampden crowd will be hoping the Scots can pull off their first win against the Germans for the first time in 16 years.