Combined XI: Germany vs Spain

Germany who are the new Champions of the World will take on the Spain – the kings they dethroned a few months back in a mouthwatering heavy-weight friendly on Tuesday night. Managers of both teams had named a relatively young and inexperienced squad while coming into this international break.Spain are without the likes of Iniesta and David Silva, who are both out with injuries and manager Del Bosque opted to leave out some of his old favourites like Fernando Torres, and went instead with the uncapped Alvaro Morata (Juventus) and Jose Callejon (Naploi) to go with Paco Alcacer of Valencia for the forward line-up.Germany on the other hand had already shown issues in finding replacements for Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Miroslav Klose – All of whom retired after the World Cup, and to add to their troubles injuries to the likes of Mats Hummels and Bastian Scheweinsteiger have forced Joachim Loew into picking more inexperienced players than he would have wanted to. Matters have gone from bad to worse for the newly crowned champions after it was announced that Bayern Munich duo Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng will not travel with the squad for the big game.With a mixture of new faces and old faces in both squads, here is a combined XI of the available players from both countries for tomorrow’s game.

#1 Goal Keeper Iker Casillas

There would have been only one clear choice for this spot had Manuel Neuer been fit for the game. His injury opens up an opportunity for Roman Weidenfeller and Ron-Robert Zieler to play for Germany. But both Zeiler and Weidenfeller won’t be able to displace Casillas in goal for the combined squad.

The Spanish captain came under heavy fire for his performances at the recently concluded World Cup, but with proper support from Carlo Ancelloti and good playing time for Real Madrid, Casillas has resurrected his fading form to some extent.

Casillas has been the first choice for his club and has kept Keylor Navas on the bench and Del Bosque still trusts him enough to start him regularly.

#2 Right back Cesar Azpilicueta

The retirement of Philipp Lahm has opened up a huge void in the German defense which made it clear that it was between the two regular Spanish rightbacks for a place in this combined XI.

Azpilicueta gets the nod ahead of Juanfran due to the incredible consistency the Chelsea man has shown for the club since last season.

A simple way to measure the level of his performances is by looking at the quality of the two left-backs he has kept out of the Chelsea starting line-up during his stay there, all the while playing out of position himself. The first one was an ageing Ashley Cole, and the second is Filipe Luis, which is quite surprising, because Luis was arguably the best left-back in Europe last season.

That is precisely why he was roped in by the London club, but Azpilicueta’s performance has kept the Brazilian on the bench and the Spaniard has walked back into the first team, after serving a suspension recently.

#3 Center back Sergio Ramos

No surprises there, because it is impossible to omit the Real Madrid man from almost any list because of his quality and current form. Ramos is easily one of the best center backs in the modern game and the Spaniard will walk into any team in the world.

The former Sevilla man has cemented his place as a definite starter in Ancelloti’s side for all games, leaving Pepe and Varane to fight for the other defender’s position.

Ramos is a no-nonsense defender who is a leader at the back, plays the ball very well, and despite his track record for accumulating cards, he is any manager’s dream defender. He has been a rock for Spain for the past many years, and continues to be one of their most trusted players in the national team set-up.

#4 Center back Benedikt Howedes

The absence of Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng gives Howedes a straight path into the starting 11, but don’t get the wrong impression, because Howedes is as good a defender as his compatriots mentioned above.

The Schalke captain is a very commanding defender and is very versatile. He was a valuable asset for Loew in Brazil due to the injuries to other players and was utilized as a left-full back throughout the competition. Howedes is equally strong playing as a right full-back, but his best position is at the heart of the defense.

#5 Left back Jordi Alba

With Azpilicueta making the team as a right-back, Alba gets picked in the squad to fill in the left-back position. The Spaniard has been the undisputed left-back for Spain ever since the retirement of Joan Capdevilla and he has every right to be so.

The pacey left-back impressed football fans worldwide with his attacking displays during Euro 2012, and has continued to perform in the same way for both club and country.

Alba though may need to think of elevating his game a little more with the young Juan Bernat knocking at the doors of the starting line-up with his impressive debut for La Roja and his consistent performances for Bayern Munich.

#6 Defensive Midfielder Sergio Busquets

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announced that if he were a player then he would like to be Sergio Busquets.

Del Bosque has had a lot of faith and confidence in a very young Sergio Busquets for years and the Barcelona man has repaid the faith his manager has shown in him with his performances on the pitch.

Busquets is an excellent reader of the game; he is very good at keeping possession and also in breaking up opposition play. The Spaniard is not the kind of player who ventures forward a lot, and is more like the modern day defensive midfielder who plays between the center backs and starts play from the back. Such players have to be very intelligent to prevent opposition counter attacks and Busquets is certainly that.

#7 Central Midfield Toni Kroos

Kroos has formed an impressive partnership with Luka Modric in midfield for Real Madrid and the duo have an impressive pass completion rate, which makes it obvious that it is really difficult to get the ball of them.

Individually, Kroos averages 94% pass completion so far this season in the La Liga, but it’s not just this aspect of his game that has improved under Ancelotti. Kroos has also bettered his work rate due to the fact that he is now regularly played in a deeper-midfield role.

He was one of the best players at the World Cup for Germany, and helped them exert control over their opposition during the entire tournament.

#8 Central Midfield Koke

Koke was said to be the successor for Xavi in the Spain side after his retirement and the Atletico Madrid man has stepped into the shoes of Xavi with relative ease.

The Spaniard has taken up a starting role for Spain and is the one who makes them tick by keeping possession to bring other players into the game. He was on song during Spain’s latest international game against Belarus and provided the assist for Isco’s goal.

At the very young age of 22, Koke has the potential to be as good as Xavi was or maybe even go on to become better than the Barcelona and Spain legend.

#9 Right Wing Thomas Muller

Muller is not like the flamboyant forwards we see today. He doesn’t have the pace and tricks of Ronaldo, nor can he dribble like Lionel Messi and even then the German is slowly but steadily reaching the level of the other two.

The Bayern Munich man has turned into a consistent scorer and he does this with his excellent movement and positioning. Muller has the knack of being in the right place at the right time; he keeps things simple and converts his chances with great accuracy.

One does not simply score 10 World Cup goals by the age of 24 if they don’t have the right attitude and temperament towards the game.

#10 Left Wing Isco

The Real Madrid star had a slow start to life at the Bernabeu after failing to get regular playing time due to the performances of Gareth Bale and Angel Di Maria, but Ancelotti had insisted that Isco remained a key member of his side and the Spaniard has started to show why.

Isco got a regular run of games with Real following an injury to Bale and the former Malaga man impressed with excellent performances against the likes of Barcelona and Liverpool.

His performances didn’t go unnoticed as Del Bosque called him up to the national team once again and the 22 year old repaid his manager’s faith by giving an excellent performance against Belarus, during which he had scored an amazing goal as well.

#11 Striker/ False nine Mario Gotze

Gotze has shown that he is capable of performing in a false nine role occasionally for Bayern Munich and did the same for Germany at the World Cup. He scored the goal that won Germany the World Cup after coming on for striker Miroslav Klose and playing in a more withdrawn false nine position.

The former Dortmund man is not a regular goal-scorer in that position like Lionel Messi who made the role famous, but the German has the ability to pull the strings and feed the likes of Muller from there.

Gotze may have had to settle for a place from the bench if Diego Costa was fit and available for selection, but in his absence, he will lead the line.

#12 Manager Joachim Loew

The toughest choice in the selection of the squad was to pick from Joachim Loew and Vicente del Bosque. Both are successful managers who have won World Cups, but Loew gets the nod ahead of Del Bosque due to the fact that Germany had won the World Cup recently, while Spain had a poor outing this time around.

Loew is a tactically versatile manager; he knows how to keep his players motivated and get the best out of them. He has consistently taken Germany to the last stages of international tournaments and his efforts finally paid off after the World Cup triumph.

Subs: Roman Weidenfeller, Juanfran, Shkodran Mustafi, Lars Bender, Sami Khedira, Santi Cazorla and Paco Alcacer.