Gundogan and Gomez get Germany chance

Joachim Low says Ilkay Gundogan and Mario Gomez will be given the chance to impress in Friday’s World Cup qualifier against San Marino, in the absence of several key players.

The Germany boss opted to rest Arsenal ace Mesut Ozil, while Bayern Munich duo Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng are unavailable due to illness and injury respectively, with Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos also sidelined.

In their stead, Gundogan will start a game for his country for the first time in over a year, while Gomez has not played for Low since Euro 2016.

“We are without a number of players, but that should not play too much of a role,” Low said at a media conference.

“A lot of them have played almost every game this season and they deserve a bit of rest. We have some young players with the team and are a still a good squad. It will not hurt us on the pitch.

“Of course, we are without some key players, but that gives others the chance to show what they can do. Ilkay Gundogan and Mario Gomez will both start.” 

Germany beat San Marino 13-0 back in 2006, but Low has warned his players against complacency.

“That record win was obviously a great game, where pretty much every shot resulted in a goal. But we are not underestimating San Marino,” he added.

“You can see that a lot of their players got their education in Italy. They know how to defend.

“San Marino have been conceding pretty late on in their previous World Cup qualifiers. It is in our own hands how many goals we will score, but we are not thinking about setting a new record.”