Löw rewarded for Götze backing

Mario Götze's match-winning brilliance in the 3-1 defeat of Poland came as no surprise to Germany head coach Joachim Löw.

The 23-year-old has been out of favor at Bayern Munich in the past 12 months, leaving his future at the club open to speculation. Götze has managed just around 120 minutes of football in the league this season as the likes of Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa and Thomas Müller remain first-picks in the starting line-up.

Scorer of vital international goals, such as in the World Cup final in Rio, Götze consistently delivers when he pulls on the national team shirt regardless of what happens at club level. With 14 goals for Germany, Götze is the sort of player that Löw can rely upon when the going gets tough.

“At Bayern Munich, competition is so much tougher than it is for the national team with players like Robert Lewandowski,” Löw told reporters in Glasgow.

“I've talked to him so many times and I've come to the conclusion that he's actually a great professional. He's my man for important games. He scores in big games – vs. Brazil, Argentina and other teams.

“I see Götze as a really good player that any team would be proud to have,” teammate Manuel Neuer agreed. “He had a hard season last year, but he wasn't as anonymous as reports suggested.

“We are very happy to have him. He can play anywhere. He has an ability to read the game well as a fully-fledged performance with room to improve.”

Löw: 'A pleasure to play in Glasgow'

Germany has claimed pole position in the race for a spot at the 2016 European Championships. With Poland on course for second, the battle between Scotland and the Republic of Ireland will come down to encounters against the top-two in the group.

With a win over Georgia, Ireland could punish Scotland's poor performance in Tbilisi by going four points clear if Germany win in Glasgow. The Scots' misery was compounded in delays which saw Gordon Strachan's squad only return to Glasgow Airport at 7am on Saturday morning.

His preparations have since been altered, including Sunday's pre-match press conference. But that disruption won't be an extra advantage to the world champions, according to Löw.

“They'll be disappointed with the result,” he responded. “If anything, it'll make them more dangerous. They will want to reboot because whenever they're up against big teams, they really get into their own with the fighting spirit and passion.”

In his first visit to Hampden Park as a player or a coach, Löw has no fresh injury concerns to contend with. “I might be tempted into a few personnel changes, though,” he noted, praising the performances of Emre Can and Jonaa Hector who have made the full-back positions their own in national team training.

“Scotland lost against Georgia but that won't affect their fighting spirit and the crowd will get behind the Scottish team,” said the 55-year-old, who added that it was a special pleasure to play in Scotland or in the United Kingdom.