STRENGTH IN DEPTH

Germany are extremely strong in all areas of the pitch and it has made them as one of the strong favourites for the upcoming World Cup. However, they remain extremely light up front due to the profile of their strikers. Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose continue to remain the major strikers for the nation, which has put them in a precarious situation ahead of the competition. This is likely to be the final tournament for Klose, who is in the final years of his career. Gomez, meanwhile, has suffered injury problems with his club Fiorentina.

He has not played for the last few months after suffering the injury back in September, but he recently confirmed that he is close to returning to action. Despite this, Germany would want to have a backup in case these players are not available for any of the matches. As a result, manager Joachim Loew has revealed that he is ready to go back to a player he has not selected for the last four years – Stefan Kiessling. The Bayer Leverkusen striker has not been part of the team since 2010, but Loew has not ruled out selecting him in case a need arises.

Chelsea’s Andre Schurrle can also play in this position, but he has found game time limited at Stamford Bridge this season.

“I am ready to reconsider if someone gets injured or has poor form,” said Loew. Klose is very close to beating the record held by Brazilian Ronaldo for the most number of goals at a World Cup. However, he only recently returned to first team action with Lazio after being out for the last few weeks. The 30-year-old Stefan Kiessling has been in fine form for his club this season. He has 13 goals in 27 appearances of all competitions.