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Ready to tonk Gibraltar

November 13, 2014

Germany have two more games left in 2014, the first is a qualifier against minnows Gibraltar. A big win is expected against UEFA's newest members on Friday night in Nuremberg.

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German team trains in Berlin, with Joachim Löw
Image: Getty Images/M. Rose

There are 51 places between Germany and Gibraltar in the UEFA rankings. In fact, were it not for Spain and England being above Germany, then it would be a case of the best-ranked team in Europe against the worst. After Germany's slow start in Group D of EURO 2016 qualifying, it's actually a case of fourth against sixth.

Gibraltar are the newest member UEFA member having finally been accepted mid-2013 after a 14-year struggle, and only played their first international in September. The side, largely made up of amateurs, have lost all three of their games so far, including 7-0 hammerings against Poland and Ireland and look set for another tough evening on Friday.

For coach Joachim Löw and his side, it's a chance to bounce back in style after a difficult start to their EURO 2016 qualifying campaign. Having suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Poland, Löw's charges then conceded a last-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Ireland last month. Along with their 2-1 win against Scotland in the group's opening game, Germany have just four points from three games.

Joachim Löw
Joachim Löw says that he is not satisfied about how the EURO qualifiers have gone so farImage: Bongarts/Getty Images/A. Hassenstein

Germany looking to win big

In the aim to make that tally seven and turn a negative goal difference into a healthy one, Joachim Löw is set to go on the offensive against UEFA's minnows.

"We are not satisfied, neither me, nor the team because we have too few points," Löw told reporters on Thursday.

"There will be many attacking players on the pitch tomorrow. We don't need four defenders at the back. We need players to set the tone up front," he added.

Marco Reus, Julian Draxler and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger are unavailable due to injury, but Löw did confirm that Sami Khedira and Lukas Podolski will start, despite the latter's lack of playing time at club level. Löw himself said that he felt "it was very important" that Podolski got regular game time.

Facing a side made up of firemen, accountants and customs officers, Germany's advantage is so great they're eyeing the chance to record a new highest victory - the previous record stands at a 16-0 win against Russia at the 1912 Olympics. New assistant coach Thomas Schneider did say though that "to have a good game" and "win 5-0 or 6-0" was acceptable.

Gibraltar national team
Gibraltar want to lose by less goals than Brazil did against Germany in the World CupImage: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Forra

Damage prevention for minnows

Gibraltar coach Allen Bula would be happy with a low-scoring defeat, but says it is not his side who are under pressure. "We're playing against the world champions, so for me this is already a dream come true," admitted Bula.

"They are 10 worlds apart from us," Gibraltar captain and customs officer Roy Chipolina said. "But it's something I'll be able to tell my grandchildren."

While the odds for a Gibraltar upset are far from convincing - the majority of quotes are around 80 to 1 - the tiny nation twice the size of Central Park in New York with a population of less than 30,000, has already had some sporting success against Germany. In June this year, for instance, Gibraltar beat Germany by six wickets in an international cricket match.

On Friday night though, the pitch may play a little differently to that afternoon in June. As Gibraltar-based bar manager Richard Mew said, "Germany could put their under-15s out and still win."

After Gibraltar, Germany will play their final fixture of 2014 on Tuesday night (18.11.2014), in a friendly in Spain. Löw is expected to give some of the newer, fresh faces - including squad debutant Jonas Hector and U21 captain Kevin Volland - a chance to show their talents there.

jh/al (AP, dpa, Reuters)

DW will have live coverage of the Germany vs. Gibraltar EURO 2016 qualifier at www.dw.de/sports from 19:15 UTC.