Joachim Löw hit on several hot topics as Germany prepares for the Netherlands and Northern Ireland

Joachim Löw spoke this morning on several topics surrounding Germany as the squad prepares for its upcoming UEFA Euro Group C qualifiers against the Netherlands (Friday, 2:45PM EST) and Northern Ireland (Monday, 2:45PM EST). Specifically, Löw addressed several “hot button” issues with Bayern Munich players as captured by Bild reporter Christian Falk.

Leon Goretzka is still not 100% and will miss tomorrow’s game against the Netherlands:

Leon Goretzka will miss Holland tomorrow

Serge Gnabry has earned a “can’t miss” spot in in Löw’s lineup:

Jogi Löw “Serge Gnabry always plays!”

With regard to the goalkeeping competition where Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer and FC Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen are both worthy of being named as a starter, Löw is not talking in certainties. Neuer is expected to start against the Dutch squad, but Löw did not commit to either player for Sunday’s tilt against Northern Ireland:

National coach leaves open against Northern Ireland whether @Manuel_Neuer or @mterstegen1 plays

In addition, Löw gave an interview to the DFB, where he addressed the squad’s turnover over the past year (including the progress of some players that are not currently with the squad):

The players know that there are many things in motion. There’s a new hierarchy that’s forming within the squad. I can see that there are several players who are happy to take on more responsibility. Defensively, Niklas Süle and Nico Schulz have done well to do recently, as well as Thilo Kehrer and Jonathan Tah. Joshua Kimmich is someone who already took on responsibility within the youth teams, and has done the same with FC Bayern. Players like Julian Brandt, Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry have plenty of potential. They participate a lot, even off the pitch.

They come to me with questions; they want explanations and want to understand why we choose certain drills in training. The current generation is very eager to learn and are finding their place. I think that’s a good thing. Players like Julian Draxler, Timo Werner or Antonio Rüdiger are still young, even if they’ve been part of the team for a while now. We will find the right mixture. In addition to that youthful abandon and energy, we need the experience of players like Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gündogan or Marco Reus if we want to win matches.

While the next two games will not make or break Löw, his goal for the team is likely steady improvement with each game, after some very poor results in 2018 and uneven play earlier this year.