Germany v Netherlands friendly to symbolise unity – Loew

Germany’s minister of justice Heiko Maas has welcomed the German Football Association’s (DFB) decision to go ahead with Tuesday’s friendly against the Netherlands after the Paris terror attacks.

On Friday, Blind reverted to the 5-3-2 style adopted by Louis van Gaal at last year’s World Cup when the Netherlands reached the semifinal thanks to its pragmatic playing style built around rock-solid defense and quick counter attacks.

The German national team was forced to spend the night in the Stade de France on Friday evening after the attacks, which claimed at least 127 lives.

As all the members of the German cabinet and Chancellor Angela Merkel will attending the game, the Germans have changed the programme abandoning celebratory activities.

“We are of course happy that we have landed safely, but our thoughts are with the relatives and the victims”, said Bierhoff, speaking after the team landed in Frankfurt early Saturday.

Germany’s acting FA president, Reinhard Rauball exalted the France team and said, “The French said that they were staying as long as Germany had to stay”. ‘But we all know how important it is to send a signal as a national team in favor of our values and culture’.

The DFB is working on an enhanced security strategy for the Netherlands friendly.

Neuer’s club-mate Jerome Boateng is out with a knee injury, while Cologne defender Jonas Hector has a thigh complaint. The 19-year-old Schalke youngster Leroy Sane will also join the German Under-21 team.

Shaken by its frightening experience in Paris, Germany meets the Netherlands in a subdued mood and amid heightened security, with the emphasis more on the message against terror than on football.

Both coach Loew and team manager Bierhoff made clear that the Netherlands game is not seen as a sporting occasion.

The bomb explosions outside the stadium were clearly heard by the spectators and players and was easily audible during the live telecast of the game as well.

Germany edged through to Euro 2016 thanks to a final group-game victory over Georgia, but the country will be without a number of key participants as they aim to build into a few form ahead of the tournament next summer. “What we want to do, is to play football with a fair amount of concentration”, Joachim Loew said.