Germany coach Joachim Loew has said he will abandon the three-man defence for Tuesday's friendly against World Cup finalists the Netherlands as he waits on the fitness of striker Miroslav Klose.
Germany played an experimental 3-4-1-2 formation in Friday's 3-3 draw in a friendly against Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine in Kiev, but leaked three goals in the first 45 minutes.
The inexperienced trio of Mats Hummels from Borussia Dortmund with Bayern Munich pair Holger Badstuber and Jerome Boateng made up the three-man defence which looked unsteady at times in Kiev.
It was a step away from the successful 4-2-3-1 system which saw Germany breeze through their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign and finish third at last year's World Cup.
Loew is considering using a traditional 4-4-2 formation against the Dutch in Hamburg to allow strikers Klose and Mario Gomez to play together, but is waiting on the fitness of the former, who missed the Kiev clash with a knee injury.
With 62 goals in 112 appearances for Germany, Klose is just six short of the all-time record of 'Das Bomber' Gerd Muller as top scorer for his country.
"Overall, I was really very happy, even if I am the only one with this opinion," said Loew when asked about the three-man defence.
"The three goals against us had little to do with the new system.
"In the game against the Netherlands, we will not play the three-man defence.
"We'll see if we can play with two strikers, but it depends on whether Miroslav Klose can play.
"We have a main system, which has worked well for several months, but we want to develop ourselves and to be flexible and unpredictable at the European Championships."
Having first played the Dutch in 1910, Germany have a long history against their European neighbours and are slightly ahead in head-to-head meetings with 13 wins and 10 defeats with 14 draws.
First-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer joined up with the team in Hamburg on Saturday after being rested for Friday's match while both Klose and midfielder Marco Reus have also joined their national team-mates.
Reus missed the Ukraine match with stomach 'flu and has since recovered.
Source: AFP
