Slovakia Friendly Offers Joachim Low Perfect Opportunity to Test Fringe Players

When Germany face Slovakia to kick their preparations for UEFA Euro 2016 into another gear on Sunday, the XI on the pitch will hardly resemble the one we'll see on June 12 in Lille, in France.

On that day, Joachim Low's men will start their Euro adventure against Ukraine. Until then, however, a lot of things need sorting out.

The 56-year-old called up a preliminary selection of 27 players for the first phase of preparations, including four players who have yet to make their debut for the current FIFA World Cup holders. Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno and attacker Julian Brandt, Bayern Munich all-rounder Joshua Kimmich and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Weigl could all earn their first caps against Slovakia.

Apart from Leno, who's one of only three 'keepers in the camp and thus has already booked a trip to France, all three potential debutants are on the bubble. With Low having to cut down his squad to 23 players by May 31, Sunday's match will be their only chance to prove their worth.

The same goes for others who can't be sure they'll make it to the Euros. Players such as Roma's Antonio Rudiger, Hoffenheim's Sebastian Rudy or Schalke's Leroy Sane will hope to see the field at the weekend, too.

In that regard, it's almost a blessing that a number of regulars won't be available on Sunday.

Toni Kroos, of course, has a slightly more important game to play at the San Siro in Milan on Saturday. Mats Hummels is out with a muscle injury he picked up in the DFB-Pokal final on May 21, while Marco Reus suffers from slight adductor problems and will not play. Lukas Podolski scored the winner in the Turkish cup final for Galatasaray on Thursday and has yet to join the team.

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The biggest question, however, surrounds the captain's fitness. Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger said in a press conference during the week, per Aaron Flanagan of the Mirror, that "it's looking very good and I'm very optimistic" that he'll get healthy in time for the tournament after a knee injury had kept him out since March.

He added: "I've got to get a bit closer to training with the team, but everything's going according to plan so far."

With Sami Khedira unlikely to be able to play more than 45 minutes or so after overcoming a muscle injury himself, Germany's usual central midfield personnel won't be available in the first friendly of the summer.

That should be music to the ears of Weigl and Kimmich, both of whom Low could select for the starting XI.

Twenty-year-old Weigl could especially use a strong performance against Slovakia. Due to his lack of positional versatility, the Dortmund man has a mountain to climb if he's to make the final 23-man squad. Unless Schweinsteiger indeed misses the tournament, Weigl would seem like one of the more logical candidates to go home after the first phase of preparations.

That's not to say he wouldn't deserve to make it to France, though. As Raphael Honigstein pointed out in a piece for ESPN FC, Weigl has played with a maturity well beyond his years in Thomas Tuchel's team, setting the pace, breaking up opposition moves and starting attacks with a quiet, understated elegance. 

"No other club in Europe's top five leagues will have done a better deal than Dortmund last summer," Honigstein concluded.

Weigl himself has called "being here" the indubitable highlight of a season in which he's "experienced so much," per the German football association's official website.

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However, with Kroos, Khedira and a fit Schweinsteiger firmly entrenched in Low's plans, back-up midfielders probably will have to have some positional flexibility.

That's why Kimmich's chances to stick until the very end have to be considered much higher than Weigl's. The 21-year-old is fully aware of versatility potentially being his most sought-after quality, per DFB.de: "It is generally an advantage when you’re a versatile player. I have already played in central defence, right-back, left-back and defensive midfield. A lot happens during the course of a tournament and there are sometimes lots of injuries."

Despite playing mostly at centre-back under Pep Guardiola in his first season in the top flight, Kimmich is a more natural midfielder. Much like Weigl, he displayed a surprising level of maturity on the biggest stage, capably covering for injured team-mates at centre-back in some of the most important games of Bayern's campaign.

It's not a stretch to assume that Kimmich's performances in two meetings with Dortmund, in March and in the cup final, left a lasting impression on Low and are at least partly the reason the 21-year-old is in this position now.

"

Julian Weigl and Joashua Kimmich are both playing their first seasons at this level! How crazy is that??! They've been unbelievable! #FCBBVB

— Cristian Nyari (@CrisNyari) May 21, 2016"

Assuming that one of these two excellent rookies will make the final 23-man squad, that still leaves three players who will have to go home early and disappointed.

In defence, Rudiger could be the odd man out. Hummels and Jerome Boateng will form arguably the Euros' most formidable centre-back partnership, with Valencia's Shkodran Mustafi a very capable back-up. Schalke captain Benedikt Howedes played at left-back at the 2014 World Cup and could again be used out wide but still factors in as important depth at the heart of defence.

Twenty-six-year-old Rudy has yet to really convince the German fans of his qualities, but the coaching staff seem to like his intelligence and versatility, using Hoffenheim's midfielder at right-back and right wing-back during the qualifying stage. He might be safe.

With a lot of attacking options—not out-and-out strikers, mind—it seems that Brandt and Sane are fighting for one spot at best.

Low lauded the former's qualities in one-on-ones during the week, per ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko, while saying that Sane "is great for deep runs." With Reus out of the picture against Slovakia, Germany should test both Brandt and the Schalke attacker. Low already knows what Andre Schurrle or Julian Draxler can bring to the team.

Fans may not think much of the Slovakia match, especially as some of the Eastern Europeans will play their second match in three days, having already beaten Georgia 3-1 on Thursday, but the friendly shouldn't be underestimated.

A whopping eight players got their debut for Germany in a friendly against Poland before the World Cup in Brazil, as Bayern's and Dortmund's internationals were unavailable due to the cup final. Of those eight, two made the final squad. 

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Mustafi played in three games at the World Cup, including getting a start in the round of 16 against Algeria, before a muscle injury ended his tournament early. The other one, Christoph Kramer, even started the final against Argentina—although he doesn't remember it, having suffered a concussion after 17 minutes.

Few gave Mustafi or Kramer much of a chance to make it past the squad cut-down in 2014, but they showed it's possible for long shots to contribute even in a side as strong as Germany.

Players such as Weigl or Kimmich will hope history can repeat itself, and, if it does, an easily overlooked friendly against Slovakia could be considered the starting point.

Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist who also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.