In the early hours of Tuesday morning (AEST), Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroos face the toughest test of their FIFA Confederations Cup campaign: world champions Germany.
Baby Die Mannschaft
Germany’s line-up in Sochi will be young and inexperienced, with manager Löw leaving the likes of Mario Gomez, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Mesut Özil at home.
The most capped player in the current German squad is just 23, while only a handful of players were part of the World Cup-winning 2014 team.
Could this fresh-faced side be ripe for the picking, or will the likes of Niklas Sule and Amin Younes emerge as the next generation of German superstars?
Australia might be advantaged by facing Germany first, with Löw’s efforts to settle his new line-up a work in progress.
Or, the Socceroos could be the first side to face defeat at the hands of yet another era of German footballing dominance.
Postecoglou, though, was not buying into such talk during the pre-match press conference.
“Let’s dispel one myth,” said the 51-year-old manager on Sunday. “When the teams walk out tomorrow, I would have a guess that we will be younger.”
Sandro Wagner
Defying the youthful trend in Löw’s side is Hoffenheim striker Sandro Wagner, the oldest player in the squad at 29.
A product of Bayern Munich’s famed youth academy, Wagner is an imposing six-foot-three presence in the penalty box.
He bloomed late, enduring uninspired stints at Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin, before finding his rhythm in 2015 at Darmstadt and securing a move to Bundesliga contenders Hoffenheim.
Wagner’s 11 league goals in 30 starts helped Hoffenheim improve from 15th to fourth this year, and his form continued on competitive debut for Germany with a hat-trick against minnows San Marino.
Australia’s likely back-line of Milos Degenek, Ryan McGowan and Trent Sainsbury can all match Wagner for physicality, setting the stage for an intriguing defensive battle in Sochi.
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