Löw to rest Götze against Belgium

Germany prepare for their final 2012 European Championship qualifier against Belgium on Tuesday at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf with Joachim Löw's men chasing a record of winning all their 10 qualifying matches, which no national team has ever achieved in European Championship qualifications.

So far Germany has won all qualifiers, adding an impressive ninth on Friday with a 3-1 victory against Turkey in Istanbul though the team had earlier confirmed their qualification for Euro2012 in Poland and the Ukraine. Normally motivation becomes a problem for a qualified team, but chasing such a record is keeping the team focused.

As Joachim Löw has been doing over the last few matches, he is once more giving a player some rest. This time around it is teenage sensation Mario Götze who has returned home to his club Borussia Dortmund, while Bayern Munich's Toni Kroos returns to the squad after fever and Under-21 international Ilkay Gündogan also moves up into the senior team.

Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Özil missed the tie against Turkey, which some say was a precautionary measure by Löw to avoid a rough welcome; but Özil is set to be back for the Belgium tie. Meanwhile another absentee in seasoned striker Miroslav Klose is still nursing an injury, so he is likely to miss this tie as well.

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jerome Boateng are nursing small niggles, but are likely to be match fit for Tuesday nights game.