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Germany flirt with ‘sexy football’ to secure Euro 2020 berth
DšSSELDORF, Germany, Nov 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Joshua Kimmich says Germany
hope to seduce home fans with “sexy football” to brush Belarus aside on
Saturday, in an attempt to boost both flagging attendance figures and their
bid to qualify for the Euro 2020 finals.
Fan interest has never been so low since Joachim Loew took charge of
Germany in 2006, with average attendances for home internationals dropping to
a paltry 37,162 and only two thirds of the tickets for both remaining home
qualifiers sold so far.
An emphatic win over Belarus in Moenchengladbach could help win back any
fans still disgruntled by their woeful 2018 World Cup campaign when Germany
came last in their group.
“First and foremost, we are responsible for getting people into the stadium
whether we play sexy football or not,” said midfielder Kimmich in
Duesseldorf.
“We have to make sure that everyone who stays at home regrets it a bit.”
With two qualifiers left, European powerhouses the Netherlands, who face
Northern Ireland in Belfast on Saturday, and Germany are level at the top of
Group C on 15 points with the top two teams progressing.
So far, the Dutch and Germans have only lost to each other, with Germany’s
3-2 win in Amsterdam last March avenged when the Oranje enjoyed a 4-2 victory
in Hamburg in September.
The Germans will claim their Euro finals berth on Saturday with a win
provided the Dutch don’t lose in Belfast, and Loew’s squad will be eager to
avoid having to win their final qualifier against Northern Ireland in
Frankfurt on Tuesday.
Striker Timo Werner is currently Germany’s best source of goals with the RB
Leipzig striker having netted 11 goals in as many Bundesliga games this
season.
“He’s on a sensational run,” acknowledged Kimmich, who added the Germans
have targeted “six points” from their last two qualifiers.
Werner netted his 11th goal in 28 appearances for Germany last month when
they beat Estonia 3-0 with 10-men in Tallinn after defender Emre Can was sent
off with just 14 minutes gone.
After grinding out a 2-0 win in Belarus in June, Werner warned “you can’t
expect us to win 5-0 or 6-0”.
With Can suspended and Niklas Suele injured, Loew will need to reshuffle
his defence, but there is a fight for midfield places behind Werner.
Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who scored twice against
Estonia, is vying with Bayern Munich’s Kimmich and Real Madrid star Toni
Kroos for a central midfield slot.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0831 hrs