Low: Big choices to be made

Germany coach Joachim Low has admitted he will struggle to leave behind several players when he names his final 23-man squad for what he hopes will be a triumphant UEFA EURO 2012 campaign. Low's side eased into next summer's showpiece in Poland and Ukraine by winning all ten of their qualifiers, but the 51-year-old said leaving behind some quality players could be more difficult. "We have a good thirty or so players who tick all the boxes and meet our expectations," Low told the German football federation's website. "So I will have a few difficult choices to make, and some bad news to announce." Germany, third-place finishers at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, are one of the form teams in Europe and Low wants to finish the year on a high in their two remaining pre-Christmas friendlies, against Ukraine on 7 November and the Netherlands four days later. "We want to finish the year on a high. These kinds of matches... are not just friendlies," he added. "But I'll be giving chances to a few younger players." Germany have not won a major title since EURO 96, but key player Mesut Ozil believes that could all change. "I look at things positively because we have a very young team that is hungry for success," said the Real Madrid midfielder. "We've won our ten matches [qualifiers] - obviously our aim now is to win the trophy, and I'm sure that's something we can achieve." Although happy with Germany's qualifying campaign, Low stressed: "Records fade, but titles remain. Our dream is to triumph at EURO 2012 but we can't afford to just focus on Spain and the Netherlands. We have to pay close attention to class teams like England, France and Italy."