Germany continue their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign away at near neighbours Poland on Saturday, in what is sure to be a difficult game for the reigning World Cup champions. Poland smashed Gibraltar 7-0 in their opening group game, while Germany just sneaked past Scotland 2-1 at home. What's more, Germany have been held to draws on each of their last two meetings with Poland.
Poland vs. Germany live stream: How to watch Euro 2016 qualifying online
Robert Lewandowski will hope to lead Poland to a surprise win over Germany on Saturday.
Mike Hewitt
Germany will also be without attacking stars Marco Reus and Mesut Özil, as well as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Benedikt Höwedes, who are all injured. Poland, meanwhile, aren’t expected to have any such injury concerns, with all of their key first-team players -- most notably Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski -- at the disposal of coach Adam Nawałka.
Key player - Thomas Müller (Germany)
With all-time World Cup top scorer Miroslav Klose having retired from international football, Joachim Löw no longer has much of a choice but to play the ever-versatile Thomas Müller as Germany's centre-forward -- with the exception of playing Mario Götze as a true false nine. Müller is a brilliantly mobile player, and he excelled in Brazil with the freedom to drift across the attack from a nominal position out wide. Löw will be looking to produce the same kind of form as the main man.
Key question - Can Poland make the most of Germany’s suspect defence?
At present, Germany are a pretty top-heavy team, with their defence questionable despite their World Cup win. Against Poland, Shkodran Mustafi is expected to partner Mats Hummels in the centre of defence, while the internationally inexperienced Sebastian Rudy is gunning to start at right-back after the retirement of Philipp Lahm. It doesn’t look the sturdiest of units, and one Robert Lewandowski will be looking to make the most of.
Match Date/Time: Saturday, 8:45 p.m. local, 2:45 p.m. ET
Venue: National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland
TV: Sportsnet One, Sportsnet 360 (Canada), ITV 4 (U.K.), Polsat Sport (Poland), RTL Television (Germany)
Online: Watch ESPN (U.S. - English), ESPN Deportes+ (U.S. - Spanish), Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now (Canada), ITV Player (U.K.)
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