Lukas Podolski will captain Germany against England in Wednesday’s friendly as he wins his 130th and final cap.
The 31-year-old Galatasaray and former Arsenal forward quit international football after Euro 2016 but returns for a farewell game in Dortmund.
“It’s not easy to replace Podolski in the team. He is unique. He is one of the greatest players that Germany has produced,” said boss Joachim Low.
Team-mates tease Jermain Defoe ‘why have you still got England flag on boots?’
Podolski, who won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, will join Japanese side Vissel Kobe after the Turkish season ends in May.
England manager Gareth Southgate, who will speak to the media later on Tuesday, only has three strikers in his squad – Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford and Jermain Defoe.
On Monday, 34-year-old Sunderland striker Defoe, who won his last cap in 2013, said he was hopeful of going to next summer’s World Cup.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
◾Germany have not lost back-to-back internationals against England since losing seven in a row between 1935 and 1966. (In the last five of these games between 1954 and 1966, they competed as West Germany).
◾England came from 2-0 down the last time they met Germany, winning 3-2 in Berlin in March 2016. Jamie Vardy and Eric Dier both scored their first international goals in the match.
◾Germany scored with both of their shots on target in that game.
◾Germany have lost their last three home matches against England on home soil – 5-1 in 2001, 2-1 in 2008 and 3-2 in 2016. Each of those wins were masterminded by a different English manager (Eriksson, Capello, Hodgson).
◾England have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last seven games against Germany.
Germany
◾Germany have lost just one of 18 games they have played in Dortmund, losing to Italy in the 2006 World Cup (W15 D2).
◾Joachim Low’s side have gone 558 minutes without conceding an international goal. Antoine Griezmann was the last player to score past them – in Euro 2016.
England
◾England have lost only one of their last 16 away internationals, against Spain in November 2015 (W9 D6).
◾Adam Lallana has scored in each of his last three internationals.
◾Jermain Defoe last won a cap in November 2013 against Chile.
Maxwell Agbashie|ahotoronline.com|Sports
