Preview: Germany vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina – prediction, team news, lineups

Needs only one point for all, but guarantees first place in League A group 3 of UEFA Nations League, Germany welcome Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Europa-Park Stadium in Freiburg on Saturday.

Julian Nagelsmanns side have already secured a place in the quarter-finals, while their visitors are not completely out of contention despite a shaky set of results so far.

Match preview

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Burnt by the pain of a quarter-final exit at their home European Championship this summer, Germany will soon have the chance to right some last eight mistakes as Nagelsmann’s side wrapped up a Nations League quarter-final spot with two games to spare.

With just two points from their first four games in Group 3, Die Mannschaft had Deniz Undav to thank for one 2-1 victory of upcoming opponents Bosnia last month, before another unsung national team hero sank the Netherlands in their latest game.

With just over an hour played against the Dutch, debutant Jamie Lewelling marked his maiden appearance with the winning goal a 1-0 triumphwhich puts Germany five points ahead of Hungary and the Netherlands and on the verge of confirming their status as group winners.

Victory on Saturday will guarantee top spot for the Germans, and the only scenario where a draw would not be enough is if Hungary simultaneously defeat the Netherlands and also thump Nagelsmann’s men by more than five goals on the final matchday.

Such a scenario is unfathomable for the 2014 World Cup winners, but they would do well to dispel that little bit of doubt with a triumph at the weekend, which also happens to extinguish Bosnia and Herzegovina’s faint hopes of sneaking into the top two.

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Yo-yoing from Liga B to Liga A ever since the inaugural Nations League in 2018-19, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s pattern of promotion followed by immediate relegation looks set to continue, barring a miraculous set of circumstances this month.

The Golden Lilies have managed just one point from 12 bids in League A Group 3 so far, holding Hungary to a goalless draw on September 10, but they were beaten 2-0 by the same opponents last time out thanks to a Dominik Szoboszlai double.

Due to the comprehensive defeat, the aforementioned loss to Germany and 5-2 humiliation at the hands of the Netherlands, Bosnia need to win and hope that the second match between Hungary and the Dutch ends in a draw if they are to have any hope to make it to the knockout rounds.

A more likely outcome is Sergey Barbarezs side are doomed to the defeat that would send them straight back to League B as their abysmal winless run in all competitions now stands at 10 games since beating Liechtenstein in a Euro 2023 qualifier.

Nine of those 10 contests have ended in defeat to Bosnia, whose only previous trip to Germany saw them go down 3-1 to Die Mannschaft in a 2010 friendly where current captain Edin Dzeko opened the scoring before Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger inspired for a comeback.

Germany’s Nations League form:

Germany form (all competitions):

Bosnia and Herzegovina Nations League form:

Bosnia and Herzegovina form (all competitions):

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Stuttgart forward Undav – who scored in October’s win over Bosnia – will not get the chance to repeat his feat on Saturday due to injury, while team-mate Angelo Stiller has also had to withdraw from Mannschaft selection due to a muscle problem.

There is also uncertainty about the Bayer Leverkusen starboy Florian Wirtzwho has been dealing with an illness and can be spared by Nagelsmann, who cannot call on the suspended Nico Schlotterbeck either.

There is only one uncapped player in Nagelsmann’s ranks this month, but it is a high-profile player in Manchester City’s goalkeeper Stefan Ortegathat competes with the one-cap duo Oliver Baumann and Alexander Nubel for the gloves.

Bosnia have also lost one of their own defenders – Nikola Katic – to a ban for an accumulation of yellow cards, a dilemma made even more difficult for Barbarez to resolve after Atalanta BC’s Sead Kolasinac pulled out with an injury.

Either Nihad Mujakic or Tarik Muharemovic – plying his trade at Sassuolo on loan from Juventus – should fill the void in defense while long-serving captain Dzeko is poised to win his 139th cap in attack.

Even at 38, the former Manchester City title winner has not slowed down for Turkish giants Fenerbahce as he links up with the national team after scoring 11 goals in 19 games for Jose Mourinhohis side this season.

Germany possible starting line-up:
Baumann; Kimmich, Tah, Rudiger, Mittelstadt; Andrich, Gross; Gnabry, Musiala, Sane; Havertz

Bosnia and Herzegovina possible starting line-up:
Vasily; Mujakic, Bicakcic, Barisic; Gazibegovic, Tahirovic, Hajradinovic, Huseinbasic, Dedic; Dzeko, Demirovic

We say: Germany 3-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina

On Bosnian soil, the Golden Lilies gave Germany a decent run for their money and now head to a Mannschaft side that Nagelsmann has admitted is nursing some bumps and bruises.

Nevertheless, Saturday’s hosts should comfortably overwhelm their visitors by one point in a comprehensive victory that would seal the fates of both sides before the final matchday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match, please click here.

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