Germany football boss Joachim Loew eyes fresh start against Serbia

Joachim Loew is hoping to bounce back from a painful 2018, in which Germany suffered an early World Cup exit and were relegated from the top tier of the UEFA Nations League

Germany coach Joachim Loew hopes to prove his critics wrong and open 2019 with a win when his new-look team host Serbia in a friendly in Wolfsburg tonight. Loew is hoping to bounce back from a painful 2018, in which Germany suffered an early World Cup exit and were relegated from the top tier of the UEFA Nations League.

The friendly against Serbia is a warm-up for Sunday's prestigious opening Euro 2020 qualifier away to the Netherlands with the Germans hunting revenge after a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of the Oranje last October at the Amsterdam Arena.

Amid fears that German football is in decline, Loew, 59, is under pressure to show that he can build a new era of success around a younger generation of players. "We are facing a new challenge. As I have said before, we need to be quicker, more dynamic and more ambitious," said Loew. "We need to give the young players the feeling that they have our complete and total trust," said Loew.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!