By Karolos Grohmann
AL KHOR, Qatar (Reuters) – Germany, who need a win to have any chance of progressing to the knockout stage of the World Cup, fielded a more attacking formation with winger Leroy Sane slipping in with fullback Thilo Kehrer for their last Group E match against Costa Rica on Thursday.
Coach Hansi Flick also put Serge Gnabry as their lone striker, opting to leave centre forward Niclas Fuellkrug, who scored an equaliser as a substitute against Spain, on the bench.
His Costa Rica counterpart Luis Fernando Suarez made three changes with Juan Pablo Vargas replacing suspended defender Francisco Calvo, while Brandon Aguilera and Johan Venegas also got the nod.
His squad could potentially advance with both a draw or a win, depending on the other group match between Spain and Japan.
Costa Rica: Keylor Navas, Juan Pablo Vargas, Keysher Fuller, Oscar Duarte, Bryan Oviedo, Kendall Waston, Celso Borges, Yeltsin Tejeda, Brandon Aguilera, Johan Venegas, Joel Campbell
Germany: Manuel Neuer, David Raum, Antonio Ruediger, Niklas Suele, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Thomas Mueller, Jamal Musiala, Ilkay Guendogan, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Doha; Editing by Milla Nissi)
