After a disastrous World Cup campaign in Qatar, Germany will be looking to get off to a positive start in 2023 when they take on Peru in their first match since the turn of the year on Saturday night at the MEWA Arena in Mainz.
Manager Hansi Flick has managed to keep his job, and has made some notable changes to his team selection for this international break, as he left out a number of established names such as Antonio Rudiger, Niklas Sule, Ilkay Gundogan, Marco Reus, Thomas Muller, and Leroy Sane, while they have lost Jamal Musiala and Armel Bella-Kotchap to injury.
Borussia Dortmund's Marius Wolf, Augsburg's Mergim Berisha, and Milan's Malick Thiaw are among a cohort of fresh talent receiving their first call-ups, while Joshua Kimmich will captain the side on his 75th Mannschaft appearance.
Peru have been fairly impressive under new boss Juan Reynoso, who replaced the long-serving Ricardo Gareca in the Peru dugout after missing out on a place in the World Cup last year.
Reynoso travels to Mainz on the back of three wins from his first four games in charge of the Bicolor, who were beaten 1-0 by Mexico during his debut game. Since that narrow loss, Peru have prevailed the likes of El Salvador, Paraguay and Bolivia in a string of friendly wins.
Despite their World Cup group stage exits, Flick's side won't be panicking just yet but anything other than a comfortable three points would set some alarm bells ringing at this early stage of their preparation ahead of hosting the 2024 European championships.
Germany vs Peru confirmed line-ups
Germany XI (4-2-3-1): Ter Stegen; Kimmich, Ginter, Schlotterbeck, Raum; Can, Wolf; Wirtz, Havertz, Werner; Fullkrug
Peru XI (4-3-3): Gallese; Advincula, Araujo, Abram, Lopez; Tapia, Aquino, Cartagena; Carrillo, Ruidiaz, Gonzales
Germany vs Peru LIVE updates
Germany's next fixtures
Die Mannschaft were humiliated at the World Cup, therefore 18 months of low-key games leading up to the Euros will be beneficial for head coach Flick to build his side.
After hosting Peru, the Germans will lock horns with Belgium at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne on the 29th of March to wrap up this international break, as Flick continues to integrate younger talent into the national team setup.
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