SOCHI, Russia -- Germany coach Joachim Low has dropped Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira from the side that desperately needs a victory over Sweden in their World Cup Group F clash in Sochi on Saturday.
The defending world champions came in for harsh criticism after their opening 1-0 loss to Mexico, with Ozil and Khedira singled out and the former having his string of 26 consecutive starts in competitive matches snapped.
They have been relegated to the bench in favour of Marco Reus and Sebastian Rudy, while Jonas Hector comes in for the injured Mats Hummels and Antonio Rudiger replaces Marvin Plattenhardt.
Centre-back Victor Lindelof returns to an otherwise unchanged Sweden side following his recovery from an illness that kept him out of their opening 1-0 win over South Korea.
Sweden will reach the last 16 with either victory over the Germans who they have not beaten in a competitive game since 1958, or two draws in their final two games.