'A step forward'

It was the first official outing for Germany's new assistant coach. Thomas Schneider, Hansi Flick's successor, met up with the Germany squad on Tuesday afternoon at the team's hub in Frankfurt. Wearing a light blue shirt, a dark blue jacket and faded jeans, Schneider looked relaxed and in a good mood as he passed by the first group of journalists. In the evening, he took the first training session with head coach Joachim Löw.

A few months ago, Schneider was under contract at VfB Stuttgart. In March he was fired and now he finds himself as Germany's new number two in the dugout. "This is not a step backwards. In fact, it's a step forwards," said the 41-year-old. His chapter at Stuttgart is over. Now it's time to turn the page and start a new one with Germany.

German Cup winner under Löw

Schneider, who won the German Cup with Stuttgart in 1997 under Löw's management, has turned his attention to the future. "I'll make a note of Jogi's workflows during training and will gradually take over more and more of the work," said Schneider. After a small chat with Löw, Schneider did indeed take the reigns.

The new duo does have some hurdles to clear with the key games against Poland and Ireland. The already thin squad selection was made all the more tricky by the news that World Cup winner Julian Draxler won't be joining up with the squad at the moment. The Schalke winger is suffering from flu and is currently unable to join up with the team. Both Mesut Özil and Andre Schurrle had their training schedule eased.

"He's a brilliant coach"

Ahead of their game against Poland on Saturday, Germany will be train in Frankfurt until the Friday before flying out to Warsaw. Apart from Draxler, Löw and Schneider have 19 players to choose from - 15 of whom are World Cup winners. Only Leverkusen's Karim Bellarabi is a new member of the squad. Against Poland, a team Löw believes to be "the strongest opponent in the group," the head coach will have to do without the injured Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira, Benedikt Höwedes, Marco Reus and Mario Gomez.

"Of course it's not an easy game. We know that one or two of the lads hasn't quite found their rhythm yet. The strain is marginal. The players are already at their limit," said Schneider.

This is the first real task for the new coaching team, but Löw has no concerns about not being able to latch onto the success he had and Flick shared with his new assistant coach. "I think he's a brilliant coach, who has his own new ideas that will do us good," explained Löw. "I'm sure we can pick up where we left off with Hansi Flick without a hitch."