Ireland vs. Germany Live Stream: World Cup Qualifying
Germany looks to move closer to qualifying for the World Cup in 2014 when they travel to Dublin to face an Irish team that hopes the home cheers will help them come away with some points.
Ireland's coach and longtime Italian player Giovanni Trapattoni looks to slow down the German transition by plugging the midfield with players, a strategy that has had mixed results in the past.
German coach Joachim Loew understands that his team are huge favorites when the two face off at the Aviva Stadium. He'll still focus his players with the fact that two more wins in qualifying and the Germans will secure their spot in Brazil for 2014, though.
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In order to slow the onslaught of German players on the offensive, Ireland assistant coach Marco Tardelli said the team plans to use a 4-3-3 formation as a way to slow the pace of play through the midfield and offer greater support to the defensive line.
"I think we need to change something against Germany because the Germans are a very strong team and play 4-3-3," Tardelli said during a press conference.
"So maybe it's possible for us to play 4-3-3. I don't know who the third midfielder will be but Fahey has good experience and for (David) Meyler it is very early because it's a very tough match and we need experienced players," he added.
When asked why he thinks the change will help, Tardelli had a direct response.
"Why the change? Because we have many injuries and against Germany- we play 4-3-3 as they have a big player behind the two strikers, (Mesut) Oezil … maybe we need a midfielder who can control and keep them in check. So we put three midfielders on the pitch and one midfielder is for Oezil."
James McCarthy, Keith Andrews and Keith Fahey are rumored to be tasked with providing a strong defensive performance as well as creating a few offensive chances during the match.
Germany is currently ranked second in the world behind Spain and last failed to come away with full points from a qualifier over three years ago- they had 1-1 draw with Finland back in October 2009.
Kickoff for the match is at 2:45 p.m. EDT and can be watched online here.
