Löw promises changes to lift gloom

Germany coach Joachim Löw has vowed to make changes after yesterday's 2-1 defeat by Croatia left them needing a point against co-hosts Austria on Monday to be sure of a UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-final place.

'Deep disappointment'
Thursday's result confirmed Croatia as Group B winners, meaning that even if Germany go through they will have to face Group A victors Portugal in the last eight – a tough proposition. First they require a result against Austria after the reverse in Klagenfurt, from which Löw is still smarting. "The disappointment is still very deep," Löw said. "It's just not going away, because we absolutely deserved to lose. We were undisciplined throughout and never managed to raise our tempo. Our combination play and attitude were totally unsatisfactory." The Mannschaft finished with ten men after the late sending-off of Bastian Schweinsteiger who will be suspended on Monday.

All change
The midfielder's omission is unlikely to be the only one. "We are considering making changes in several positions as a number of so-called squad players have been pressing for a place in training. With Lukas Podolski [ankle], Philipp Lahm [calf] and Marcell Jansen [shoulder], we have three players carrying knocks and we will wait and see how things develop." With Austria going into the game in Vienna with fresh confidence after a last-gasp equaliser against Poland, Löw predicts another tough encounter. "We expect an Austrian XI who will fight for their lives," the coach said. "They have a unique chance to reach the quarter-finals with a win. So far they have played good attacking football and have impressed many people. It'll be a very tough match. We have a serious pressure situation, but we have shown we can cope with that. We will approach the Austria game very differently. We need to show a hunger for battle and a willing attitude. I can promise we will do that."