“Germany had no clue how to find a loose brick in the Irish wall and this time there was no David Hasselhoff at hand to just sing it down.” What ever happened to the champions of 2014? After the triumph of Rio, Germany now has a hangover in the qualification round. The World Cup memories fade as scepticism grows, writes 11freunde’s Ron Ulrich.
This is the players’ tunnel that awaits Ireland and Germany at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen. The pitch entrance was installed at the home of Schalke 04 this season as a tribute to the region’s mining tradition.
In theory there should be no chance of Ireland winning against Germany. If you look on paper, you are playing against the world champions. But theory is not always right as Poland have proved, writes Fabian Biastoch, editor with Goal Germany.