Joachim Löw to experiment against England

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin on Thursday, Germany coach Joachim Löw said he wanted to get a good look at some of his players in his side's final two international matches of the year, the first of which is a friendly against England at Wembley Stadium on Friday.

"We want to play well and a result is an important issue," Löw said. "But I want to experiment a bit. We still have a few games to prepare until the World Cup."

Löw has recalled Mario Götze and Ilkay Gündogan, who were in Germany's World Cup squad and have not played for the national team in a year, as well as Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil for Friday's friendly against England, and the one against France next week. He also called in defender Marcel Halstenberg into his side and said he would give the Leipzig left back his first start against England.

"I am planning with him from the start. I took Marcel Halstenberg with us for that reason. He has been playing very well at Leipzig. He is good in the air, a strong physical player," Löw said.

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Though the World Cup is still seven months away, Löw outlined some of the "irreplaceable" players he is sure to take against to Russia.

"Sami (Khedira), Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng can give a lot to the young players and help them in various situations," Löw said. "We don't need to talk about Toni Kroos either."

However, the Germany boss knows the tough selection process he has ahead of him. After winning the Confederations Cup without many of his World Cup stars in the fold, Löw admits he has a "clear surplus of players" to choose from.

"We will make decisions that will be hard for some players," he said. When asked if some prominent names will be left out of the final squad, he responded: "That could be the case."

With Thomas Müller still recovering from a thigh injury, Löw confirmed either Khedira or Hummels will wear the captain's armband against England. Jerome Boateng will miss Friday's game with an injury, and though Kroos returned to training on Thursday in Berlin after a stomach illness, the Germany coach said he "won't take any risks."

'Not losing sleep' over Neuer injury

Though reports in Germany have suggested that Neuer will miss five more weeks than expected due to a foot injury, Löw said he is not worried about his starting goalkeeper's availability for the World Cup.

"I haven't been in contact with him for the last two weeks, but from what I do know, it doesn't worry me and it doesn't keep me up at night," Löw said.

"I know he needs a few weeks. The plan is that he will return to training next year and he has a bit more time to regain his form."

The Bayern Munich goalkeeper injured his foot whilst training in September. He has not suited up for the national team in 2017.

dv/ftm (AFP, Reuters, SID)