World Cup champions Germany face 2010 winners Spain this Tuesday when the pair meet in a glamour friendly. Vicente del Bosque's side will feel they have a point to prove against such tough opposition following their dreadful performance at the World Cup -- so should Germany be worried?
ESPN FC Germany blogger Stephan Uersfeld runs the rule over Spain's likely XI to see whether Joachim Low's men should fear the former world champions.
GK Iker Casillas, 7 -- Anything can happen with the Real Madrid man between the sticks. His poor performance in a 5-1 defeat against Netherlands at the World Cup ended the Spain golden years, and he appears to have difficulties judging set pieces and balls flying into his box these days. Still, he's one of the greats and wants to play on until he's 40.
DF Cesar Azpilicueta, 8 -- The immaculate "Dave" is set to face Premier League rival Lukas Podolski, and should entertain the veteran German with some solid runs down his side at right-back. The Chelsea man, who has been one of the best defenders in the league over the past year, might also confuse Germany's left side by trying to teach them how to pronounce his name (ath-pilly-kweta).
DF Sergio Ramos, 8 -- Much loved in Germany for his antics alongside his Real teammate Pepe, as the pair have been dubbed "the devil's right and left foot." Thomas Muller will be out for revenge when the pair meet on the pitch for the first time since Los Blancos' 4-0 win at the Allianz Arena in April's Champions League semifinal, where Ramos not only scored a brace but also mocked the silenced Bayern fans. One of the best in world football has now been linked with Bayern.
DF Gerard Pique, 5 -- The World Cup was a setback, and Pigue has rarely seen the pitch at Barcelona recently, as well. Rumours of unhappiness brought Pep Guardiola to see him in his old home, and of course that means he has been linked to Bayern (and his old side Man Untied, too). Not the player he once was, though.
DF Juan Bernat, 8 -- The 21-year-old Bayern defender has been one of the rising stars in the Bundesliga, and has played his part in making the German top flight even duller at the top. The former Valencia man has appeared in every competitive match for Munich and will look to give Barcelona's Jordi Alba a fight for the first-team spot.
MF Sergio Busquets, 6 -- Barcelona's No. 5 is smiling his way through the form crisis at the club. Part of the side which shook the world from 2008 to 2012, he recently admitted that those days are over. However, at just 26, he will have to continue playing football for a bit longer, and despite his goal against Belarus, his future is looking bleak unless he does something about it quickly.
MF Koke 9 -- The Atletico wunderkind; the new Xavi; the resurrection for La Roja. He might even give his fellow midfielder Busquets fresh hope that Spain can still achieve something. Should Koke live up to the expectations, die Nationalmannschaft will run into all sorts of trouble and could ultimately choke in their last match of 2014. He has been linked to the usual European top clubs, and Germany will get to experience his class firsthand.
MF Isco 9 -- The Real Madrid midfielder can move any mountain, and is the new big hope for Spain. Dubbed "The Messiah" after a wondergoal against Belarus, word has it that the 22-year-old could even throw his hat in the ring for the general election next year, as his popularity bonds all of Spain. He will still need to learn that if you take the elevator up, it will also take you down at some point, but not against Germany. And not in 2014.
MF Jose Callejon, 6 -- An unusual sight for Arsenal fans, who will see Podolski on the pitch and Santi Cazorla on the bench. In Cazorla's place, Callejon will hope to re-create his form at club side Napoli, where he has become a scorer of goals. But in Germany, he has drawn comparisons with Australian attacker Robbie Kruse, who has been missing in action at Leverkusen. He wasn't good enough for Madrid, so he may be an area to target.
FW Pedro, 6 -- Right now, Pedro would pick country over club anytime. At Barcelona, he sometimes starts, sometimes tracks Lionel Messi's moves from the bench, and rarely scores. Given that he has one goal in 10 league games this season, he will not exactly give Germany second-choice keeper Roman Weidenfeller bad dreams ahead of the match on Tuesday. But he was in good form for Spain against Belarus, and there is not a single Germany player who has gotten anywhere near that in the last couple of games
FW Alvaro Morata, 7 -- A top-shelf attacker, and another one to leave Real Madrid for Serie A. He nearly ended up at VfL Wolfsburg, but was relieved to find out that the Bundesliga club did not want to go near the asking price of 28 million euros. Wolfsburg went on to sign Nicklas Bendtner, as the top shelf emptied in the transfer period. He should be pleased to find himself facing German defenders Benedikt Howedes, Matthias Ginter or Antonio Rudiger, and has a chance to open his Spain account.
Spain's overall team rating: 79 out of 110
Now click here for Spain's verdict on Germany's likely XI.