Germany fans cheer prior to the match between Germany and Uruguay. Germany face Austria in UEFA 2014 World Cup qualifying on September 11, 2012. (Photo by Thorsten Wagner/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Germany coasted in a win over the Faroe Islands on Friday. Things get a little tougher on Tuesday when they go away to Vienna. Follow @SBNationSoccer
Did everyone enjoy Germany walking over the Faroe Islands? Oh, no one did? Okay. Well, the Germans face a bit more of a test on Tuesday when they travel away to Austria, who have improved significantly over the last couple of qualifying cycles thanks to an influx of young talent. Unfortunately for them, the best of those young talents isn't in the squad. David Alaba is still out injured.
Almost all of Austria's starters play regularly in the Bundesliga and hold their own against Germany's stars, so they might be able to make a game of it at home. They're up against a German team without Bastian Schweinsteiger, and whoever plays next to Sami Khedira will not have had a game to get used to the role. Presumably, Jogi Löw has a bit more respect for Austria than the Faroe Islands, and will not stick with the über-attacking 4-3-3 he used that featured Marco Reus and Mario Götze in front of Khedira.
Lars Bender, Ilkay Gündogan and Toni Kroos are all good candidates for the job. In that order, they go from least to most ambitious, and who starts might indicate how much Löw respects the Austrian attack.
And if none of them start, then, well, that's an even better indicator.
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, 2:35 p.m. ET, 8:35 p.m. local
Venue: Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Germany
TV: GolTV (U.S. and Canada), BBC One (U.K.)
We'll have live coverage of every qualifier in our UEFA 2014 World Cup Qualifying StoryStream. For more on the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.


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