Loew: Squad depth is crucial

Germany coach Joachim Loew says he wants his Germany side to be a complete squad as opposed to a team of 11 men.

The World Cup semi-finalists will show their strength in depth on Tuesday with many fringe players tipped to start their final Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium, and Loew says the time has come for the squad to prove themselves.

“In Germany we must finally say ‘goodbye’ to the idea of 11 regular players. One can see very clearly in European football that it takes more than 11 players to compensate for injuries,” Loew said.

“As a coach, of course I favour competition. Regular places are history.”

One problem area for Loew is in attack, with the former Stuttgart manager admitting: “(Thomas) Muller and (Andre) Schurrle are not classic strikers. They live off constant movement.”

“At the moment, in Germany we do not have the same type of players as (Miroslav) Klose and (Mario) Gomez who can play at a very high level.”

Loew also said that they must not underestimate Georges Leekens’ Belgium side, who can seal their place in the play-offs with a victory in Dusseldorf on Tuesday.

“It is clear that Belgium have a better attack than Turkey. Young, dynamic players who are good in one-on-one situations,” Loew said.

“As such, more attacks will come our way. They are an outstanding team going forward, so we must be on our guard.”

Loew is expected to make several changes from the side that beat Turkey 3-1 on Friday, with Mesut Oezil likely to come in and reclaim his place in the squad after missing out on the Istanbul clash.

However, Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger could sit the game out, while Mario Gotze has gone home to rest after his exploits in Istanbul.

“There is still a question mark over Schweinsteiger, who has a bruise above his knee,” Loew said. “A decision will be made on Tuesday morning.”

“Klose will not play – his knee is still painful. Oezil has trained, his pain has got better, I’m assuming he will play.”

Victory over Belgium, who Loew’s side beat 1-0 in Brussels last September, will seal a first-ever 100 percent record for Germany in qualifying for a major tournament.