Germany gears up for Austria meet

VIENNA - Agence France-Presse

German coach Joachim Löw plays with the ball during a training session in Barsinghausen, northern Germany. AFP

Germany is ready for a wearing battle against Austria when the two neighbors face each other in a 2014 World Cup qualifier at Vienna’s sold-out Ernst Happel stadium tonight.

“It will be a tight game... it will be an aggressive battle of attrition tomorrow,” Germany coach Joachim Löw told journalists in Vienna. Although ranked 47th places below world number two Germany, Löw warned: “Austria have really good quality and they will play on par with us in this group.

“Of course on paper, Germany are the favourite, but nowadays that doesn’t matter.

“You can’t underestimate any rival. Austria have every chance to beat the teams in this group, so we will need to put up a strong defence and put on a good display on the pitch if we want to win.” Germany went top of Group C by beating the Faroe Islands 3-0 in their first qualifying match last week. The other group teams include Ireland, Sweden and Kazakhstan.