Joachim Löw has said that Spain has been a footballing reference for Germany since their ascent in 2008.

“On the one hand, I’m excited that we have come to Spain because we’re going to be playing against a technically gifted team. But on the other hand, it’s unfortunate that some good players will be missing for both teams for this prestigious game. It’s also the chance to find out a few more things that we can take into next year. I expect a good performance and the players to be ready mentally as I will be judging every single one of them.

“To be honest, when I started, I had watched a lot of Spanish football, with Jürgen Klinsmann too. I shadowed a club manager in Spain and I found it impressive that you could almost lay a stencil over the pitch and there was a disciplined approach. We have definitely been influenced by Spain’s game, but we have also tried to apply our own style.

“Obviously, it wouldn’t be good to end the year with a loss. But it certainly won’t play a role next year or in at the EUROs in 2016. If you draw 2-2 with Cameroon in May, it doesn’t affect the team for weeks. I hope that we can have a good preparation for the tournament in 2015, qualify and the players can remain injury free.

“Of course, it would be nice to play in Barcelona or Madrid. I think that Spain choose to play in smaller cities more often than not and that’s completely fine.”