Former world champions Germany will hope that 2019 brings a new dawn to the national side as they prepare to face Serbia in a friendly encounter in Wolfsburg on Wednesday.
Joachim Low’s side saw their reign on top of the globe come to a humiliating end in Russia last year where they failed to make it past the group stages, before they suffered the subsequent ignominy of a Nations League relegation to boot.
The 59-year-old has therefore swung the axe, handing first call-ups to new blood while evicting several perennial members of his squad from international consideration.
Serbia too failed to progress beyond the first round of last year’s tournament, but Mladen Krstajic’s nation have proved that they can mix it with the heavyweights of world football – and they will be hoping to take full advantage of a host very much still in flux.
| Game | Germany vs Serbia |
| Date | Wednesday, March 20 |
| Time | 7:45pm GMT / 3:45pm ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Univision Deportes En Vivo | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Mix and livestreamed on the Sky Go app.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports Premier League/Sky Sports Mix | Sky Go |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Germany squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Neuer, Trapp, Ter Stegen |
| Defenders | Sule, Stark, Rudiger, Kehrer, Halstenberg, Ginter, Tah |
| Midfielders | Klostermann, Kimmech, Kroos, Schulz, Eggestein. Brandt, Reus, Goretzka, Gundogan, Havertz |
| Forwards | Sane, Gnabry, Werner |
Joachim Low’s rebuild of a shattered national team continues after the World Cup-winning coach swung the axe on one-time mainstays Thomas Muller, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels.
The trio are the big names missing from a squad that still boasts a wealth of talent, including key Manchester City man Leroy Sane and call-ups for the uncapped Lukas Klostermann, Maximilian Eggestein and Niklas Stark.
Klostermann will earn his first cap against Serbia, while Low has continued with Manuel Neuer in goal ahead of Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Germany starting XI: Neuer; Sule, Tah, Halstenberg; Klostermann, Kimmich, Havertz, Gundogan; Sane, Brandt, Werner.
| Position | Serbia squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Rajkovic, Dmitrovic, Vasiljevic |
| Defenders | Kolarov, Rukavina, Mitrovic, Milenkovic, Veljkovic, Spajic, Miletic, Bogosavac |
| Midfielders | Tadic, Ljajic, Kostic, Fejsa, Zivkovic, Gacinovic, Maksimovic, Milinkovic-Savic, Radonjic, Lukic, Lazovic, Jovicic |
| Forwards | Mitrovic, Jovic, Pavkov |
Mladen Krstajic has been hit by the double blow of losing Manchester United’s Nemanja Matic and Al-Ittihad’s Aleksandar Prijovic through injury, with the latter leaving Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic as the only recognised international forward in his squad.
As such, with their first European Championship qualifier looming, the coach has opted to experiment with a more inexperienced side, and has given the nod to Eintracht Frankfurt’s in-form 21-year-old striker Luka Jovic up front.
Serbia starting XI: Dmitrovic, Rukavina, Spajic, Milenkovic, Bogosavac, Maksimovic, Gacinovic, Milinkovic-Savic, Ljajic, Jovic, Lazovic
Betting & Match Odds
Germany are the odds-on favourtires at 2/5 to prevail with bet365 , while a draw is available at 7/2. A win for Serbia is priced at 7/1.
Match Preview
Getty
After their annus horribilis in 2018, Germany will be hoping that a new year of international football can bring good fortune back to the former World Cup holders.
Joachim Low, who guided the nation to their triumph in Brazil in 2014, saw his side eliminated in the group stages in Russia, with only a solitary late win over eventual quarter-finalists Sweden to show for their efforts.
To cap it off, they then found themselves relegated from the top tier of the Nations League by the side who deposed them as world champions, France, and a team who failed to even get there in the shape of the Netherlands.
Now, Low has been tasked with rebuilding his squad and the dreams of his country, and he will look to start his revolution with the visit of Serbia to the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg this week for an international friendly.
The most eye-catching sign of things to come has been the dismissal of long term stalwarts such as Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng from international consideration.
The Bayern Munich trio, for the most part, have been less than satisfied with the handling of their omission, with all three and their club commenting on their exit from the international set-up.
“We believe the timing and circumstances of the announcement of this decision to the players and to the public is questionable,” the Bavarian giants offered in a statement , in reference to both domestic and continental games of their own.
Boateng revealed that he was sad about the decision with Muller adding that “the longer I think about it, the more I get angry about the way this happened.”
Hummels described it as "incomprehensible" , though he added that he respected Low’s decision.
In their absence, the trio of Lukas Klostermann, Maximilian Eggestein and Niklas Stark are all in line to win their first caps after being named in the national squad.
Serbia have also named an uncapped threesome for their party, though given that Mladen Krstajic’s side earned promotion from the Nations League’s third tier after going unbeaten since the World Cup means they are under less pressure to ring the changes.
Nikola Vasiljevic, Miroslav Bogosavac and Milan Pavkov are all in line for international debuts in Wolfsburg.
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