Germany coach Loew happy to have Schweini back

BERLIN (AFP) –

Schweinsteiger has not played for his country since their Euro 2012 semi-final defeat to Italy

Germany coach Joachim Loew has expressed his delight at the return to form and fitness of Bastian Schweinsteiger (pictured) ahead of next month’s programme of World Cup qualifiers.

Germany coach Joachim Loew on Thursday expressed his delight at the return to form and fitness of Bastian Schweinsteiger ahead of next month’s programme of World Cup qualifiers.

Germany travel to Dublin to face the Republic of Ireland on October 12 and then host Sweden four days later in Berlin in a Group C double-header for the 2014 finals in Brazil.

Bayern Munich midfielder Schweinsteiger, 28, has not played for his country since their Euro 2012 semi-final defeat to Italy in Warsaw in June.

Since then, he has missed the 3-1 home friendly defeat to Argentina and the opening World Cup qualifying wins against the Faroe Islands and Austria.

However, he has enjoyed a strong start to the season with Bayern, including scoring three goals in the Bavarians’ perfect start in the Bundesliga, and one in the 2-1 victory over Valencia in their first Champions League group match.

“With his current form, he is an asset for any team,” said Loew, who emphasised Schweinsteiger’s “strong personality” and his “ability to take responsibility at delicate moments to help the team find the stability and style of play that has made us strong in the past.”

Loew, who also praised Lukas Podolski for his impressive start to life at Arsenal and gave his backing to under-fire Borussia Dortmund full-back Marcel Schmelzer, will name his squad for the two qualifiers on October 5.