Thoughts on Germany's 2-0 Win over Israel

On a day where the rain poured down over Philipp Lahm and his counterparts, Germany managed to produce a good showing and earn a win which, in truth, flattered Israel. Had this match been played in Munich, fans could be forgiven for thinking the Champions League final was being repeated with Israel playing the role of the English side.

The Israelis came out with a team that consisted of one player with Premier League experience (Yossi Benayoun) and one from the Bundesliga, Itay Shechter. Shechter, as regular viewers of German football might know, didn't have the best of times this campaign following some rather unsavoury comments from fans.

This match pointed out quite a few things, some of which we already knew but is perhaps worth reiterating.

1) Thomas Mueller is an integral part of Germany. Calls for Mueller to be replaced by the splendid Marco Reus have come in but amounted to nothing. Mueller and Ozil, as well as Miro Klose, have a telepathic understanding. Mueller, as usual, had a wonderful game in a Germany shirt.The Euros could be the perfect time for him to put an underwhelming season (by his standards) behind him for Bayern.

2) Despite Mario Goetze's talent, the first talent of the bench should be, and in all likelihood will be, Andre Schuerrle during the Euros. Schuerrle scores memorable goals. He has a shot on him which Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger used to possess before. Schuerrle has scored six goals in 14 appearances for Germany. He scored brilliant goals against both the Swiss and the Israelis. Lukas Podolski will start no matter what, though; Schuerrle will not start ahead of him due to experience.

3) Miro Klose should start ahead of Mario Gomez. Gomez scored the opener, but he needed to adjust the ball in the process. He missed a few good chances to. The words, perhaps going through every Bayern fan's mind then, was 'Gomez- hit the damn ball!' Gomez can score goals, but I am not sure whether any of the teams at the Euros, especially Denmark, will allow him three bites at the cherry each time.

Gomez is pretty useless in build-up play. In Bayern, after scoring a great goal against Hanover, he actually started to improve his play around the box. However, he seemingly is unable to do so for Germany and needs time. At the moment, due to shortage of timing, Gomez is the only option to Klose for Germany. He can make the position his own in the future, but he has to be able to do what Klose does outside the box and interchange with Mueller and Ozil as well.

4) For now, the solution to the second slot at the back is seemingly Per Mertesacker. Bastian Schweinsteiger will be fit for the Euros as far as defensive midfield is concerned. Mertesacker's fitness will be seriously tested due to lack of match practice due to injury. But Mats Hummels hasn't really performed for the national side except in one game in his 15 matches so far. If Schweinsteiger isn't up to the mark for Loew, he will go with Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos.

5) Germany's set-plays have to improve. Kroos has had problems all season long with corners and shots from distance. Some of his deliveries yesterday were simply strange. While many will point out that this is because the pitch was wet and the match was friendly, Kroos' deliveries for Bayern were pretty much pathetic as well. For a player who is so gifted as he is, these things have to improve in case he has to fill in for Schweinsteiger.

I will put up a detailed preview ahead of the Euros about Germany sometime before the action kicks off. Let me hear your thoughts about this game.