UEFA Nations League: Germany vs. Ukraine

+++ Guten Tag! Welcome to DW’s buildup to and live coverage of Germany’s Nations League game against Ukraine. Kick-off in Leipzig on Saturday is at 20:45 CET +++

The state of play

Germany began this month’s international triple-header with a rather unspectacular 1-0 friendly win over the Czech Republic on Wednesday night, a second-string team prevailing thanks to Luca Waldschmidt’s first-half goal.

But things get more serious on Saturday when Joachim Löw’s side face Ukraine in their penultimate League A, Group 4 game in the UEFA Nations League.

As it stands, Germany are second in the group, level with the Ukrainians who they beat in Kiev last month, and a point behind table-toppers Spain, who they face in Seville on Tuesday. Another victory against Ukraine is necessary to ensure that Germany’s chances of winning the group and qualifying for the Nations League Finals remain in their own hands.

In the short history of the Nations League, Germany have only ever won one game.

All change!

Eight first-team regulars have joined up with the squad in Leipzig as Joachim Löw rolls out the big guns for these two decisive matches.

The Bayern Munich contingent of Manuel Neuer, Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Niklas Süle and Leroy Sané have all arrived, plus Matthias Ginter (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Timo Werner (Chelsea) and Toni Kroos (Real Madrid).

The latter will miss the Ukraine game through suspension but spoke out this week about fixture congestion, accusing FIFA and UEFA of treating players like “puppets.” 

Several players have left the squad – not all of them voluntarily. As if confirming Kroos’ concerns, Borussia Mönchengladbach winger Jonas Hofmann looks set to be out for several weeks after suffering a thigh injury which will not please his club coach Marco Rose.

Atalanta’s Robin Gosens, a recent addition to the national team, is also out with calf problems.

Nico Schulz (Borussia Dortmund) and newcomer Ridle Baku (Wolfsburg) are also on their way home, but Philipp Max could feature again after impressing with an assist on his debut against the Czech Republic.

Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich remains unavailable after injuring his knee against Dortmund, while BVB captain Marco Reus has been given leave to sit out this international break.

Possible Germany line-up:

Neuer – Henrichs, Ginter, Rüdiger, Max – Gündogan, Neuhaus, Goretzka – Gnabry, Werner, Sané

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/uefa-nations-league-germany-vs-ukraine-live-buildup/a-55589392?maca=en-rss-en-sports-1027-xml-atom