Buoyant Germany set sights on Northern Ireland


Germany coach Joachim Loew wants the 'same again' for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland following his side's demolition of the Czech Republic. Thomas Mueller scored twice and Toni Kroos also netted as Germany dominated the Czechs 3-0 on Saturday night. It was an impressive display from the hosts in Hamburg and the scoreline could have been much higher as Julian Draxler, Mario Goetze and Mueller all missed clear chances. Defenders Jerome Boateng and Jonas Hector suffered knocks, but Loew hopes the pair will be fit to face the Irish.

"Jerome took a knock, Jonas has a slight muscular problem," said Loew, who "assumes that (neither) is not quite so bad". Germany's head coach now wants a repeat performance against Northern Ireland in Hanover to preserve their perfect record and stay top of Group C.

"We need the same determination, the same amount of running and the same precision in our passes," said Loew.