Germany still have a bad taste in their mouths after blowing a big lead against Sweden at home in their last World Cup qualifier. A draw against the Netherlands and a narrow victory over France in friendlies have done little to reassure fans and injuries will make this just a little bit tougher for Joachim Löw in this round of games.
Kazakhstan vs. Germany, 2014 World Cup qualifying: Preview and TV schedule
Germany hope to wash away the bad taste left after their collapse against Sweden in their last qualifier with a win over Kazakhstan.
Boris Streubel
Not that anyone should be panicking of course as even traveling to Astana to play Kazakhstan should offer an excellent chance for the Germans to get their mojo back.
Löw will have to make several adjustments however with regular starting defenders Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber both out injured. Per Mertesacker and Jerome Boateng are expected to team up and cover the back line for the Germans. The Bender boys, Lars and Sven, both dropped out of the squad to injuries but Sami Khedira will be available despite an injury scare in training.
Kazakhstan, who sit in fifth place with no wins and a single point, will be without the services Marat Shakhmetov and Azat Nurgaliev.
This match will kick-off at midnight local time. Seriously.
Match Date/Time: 12 p.m. local, 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan
TV: GolTV (U.S.), GolTV Canada (Canada)
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