Löw set to mix things up for Peru friendly

If Joachim Löw's selection for the goalless draw with France on Wednesday only raised eyebrows in terms of positioning, his teamsheet for Sunday's friendly against Peru is likely to bear closer resemblance to the sort of wholesale changes expected after such a poor World Cup.

The long-serving Germany boss confirmed that Schulz would make his debut, presumably in the place of Antonio Rüdiger at left back, at the Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena, where he's played his home matches since joining from Borussia Mönchengladbach at the beginning of last season.

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Schulz gets his opportunity largely thanks to the absence of Jonas Hector, who left the squad early on in order to regain fitness after an early start to the season with second division Cologne. Leroy Sane is the other man to have left the Germany camp after being granted permission to attend the birth of his first child on Friday.

Mats Hummels will also miss out with a minor achiles complaint, while Löw confirmed that Marc-Andre ter Stegen will replace Manuel Neuer between the sticks.

After the draw with France, which was encouraging at least in defensive terms, Löw said he expected the same positive qualities to be on display on Sunday.

"The same enthusiasm, organization and discipline, we have to learn to stay compact and I want to see the same desire again," he said in his pre-match press conference on Saturday.

Both Joshua Kimmich and Matthias Ginter impressed outside their natural positions in that draw and Löw said that he sees the pair continuing in their new roles, at least in the short term.

"Kimmich is our preferred solution in holding midfield at the moment," he said. "Ginter did a great job at right back."

While his team's organization at the back impressed Löw, he said he wanted to see more "playfulness" on the front foot against an opponent he desccribed as defensively sound. 

He'll be hoping some of that offensive spark comes from Julian Brandt, who Löw confirmed will start the game, possibly in place of Marco Reus, with Timo Werner likely to move back up front.

Löw also said he'll use his full quotient of six subs, which could also mean debuts for defender Thilo Kehrer and attacking midfielder Kai Havertz.