5 Things Germany Coach Joachim Low Should Test in Friendly with Australia

The German national team continue their pursuit of further success following their World Cup win last year with showdowns against Georgia and Australia in the coming days. 

Manager Joachim Low may have won the greatest prize possible in football, but it hasn't taken long for the headaches to return to the German bundestrainer. 

Ahead of two rather easy ties—although one is a friendly and the other a qualifier for the coming European Championships—Low has a number of decisions to make. 

Here's five to consider over the next week of football. 

Embed Jonas Hector as Quickly as Possible

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People often forget that Germany won the World Cup without a left-back. Sure, Benedikt Howedes finally settled into the role and actually did very well in the position by the end of the competition, but the Schalke central defender isn't a long-term plan. 

Neither is Erik Durm, the Dortmund right-footed left-back who has lost form of late, nor any of the usual suspects such as Marcell Jansen or indeed recently retired Philipp Lahm. Germany needs a new left-back, and luckily it has found it in Cologne defender Jonas Hector. 

Hector has been tearing up the Bundesliga all season and, regardless of how his club does this season, he should be bookmarked and implemented into the national team setup as quickly as possible. 

A New Right-Back for Germany

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As we already know, Lahm has since retired from international football and, as such, left a huge hole in the middle of Germany's midfield as well as on the right of its defence. 

Low has attempted to try out a number of alternatives in the position, but this current squad for the two upcoming games suggests we may be in store for Hoffenheim's Sebastian Rudy at right-back once again. 

Rudy, preferably played as a defensive midfielder, is a decent defender and should do a job against either opponent. But Germany need someone better. Either commit Jerome Boateng to the role or find a long-term replacement, Low. 

A New Striker

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Once again, we enter a new series of fixtures for Germany, and we're none the wiser about who would potentially be playing up front for the national team in France next year. 

Since Miroslav Klose's retirement, Low has struggled with the position, playing an assortment of players in the role who, in truth, offer very little of what the Lazio striker was so good at. 

Again, we have Max Kruse, Mario Gotze and Andre Schurrle to pick from. A deep-lying forward and two attacking midfielders who have never really succeeded at ever playing as the single striker up front. 

They may score and look decent against very average opposition, but it's highly unlikely. 

Decide on a Midfield Partnership

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In this squad alone, Low has Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Christoph Kramer, Ilkay Gundogan and Sami Khedira to pick from when deciding which two central midfielders will start Wednesday night against Australia. 

Logic would suggest that Kroos is a must in any must-win clash, considering his success at Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and his constant involvement thus far. Schweinsteiger's role as captain also then states that he should at least start. But in Kramer and Gundogan, Low has two excellent, young talents who really can't go to waste on the bench. 

The manager has got round this by picking different players for different opponents—horses for courses, if you will—but that won't last forever.

Spain know who their two central midfielders are, as do Italy, France and Brazil. It's time Germany picked two and stuck with them. 

A Starting Role for Badstuber

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For the longest time, Germany's central midfield pairing has picked itself: Boateng and Mats Hummels. Sure, Per Mertesacker, Howedes and even Shkodran Mustafi have had their moments, but none of these three or anyone else came close to Low's first two picks. Until now. 

With the spectacular return of Bayern's central defender Holger Badstuber and his call up to the national team, Low now has a third alternative to his comfortable two-player solution. Boateng and Hummels have done well until now but the latter has stuttered at Dortmund this season and Badstuber has looked imperious alongside Boateng for the German champions. 

Let's see Low throw the Bavarian defender a start this week and see if he can sure up a defence that has looked rather porous of late.