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• Kehrer confident of Tuchel success at Bayern

  Thomas Tuchel will be a success at Bayern Munich, according to Germany international Thilo Kehrer.

  Tuchel, who had been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in September, replaced Julian Nagelsmann on Friday.

  Nagelsmann was relieved of his duties despite Bayern having reached the Champions League quarter-finals and sitting just a point off top spot in the Bundesliga.

  Tuchel's first game in charge will come against Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund, who he coached between 2015 and 2017, in Saturday's Klassiker, and having worked under him at Paris Saint-Germain, Kehrer feels his former boss is the right pick for Bayern.

  "I had a very successful time in Paris under Thomas Tuchel," Kehrer told reporters at a pre-match news conference ahead of Germany's friendly with Belgium on Tuesday.

  "He's a coach from whom I've learned a lot and also developed a lot, so I can only say positive things about him - as a coach and as a person. I have always felt his trust and support."

  Tuchel has led some of Europe's biggest clubs, claiming two league titles and a Champions League trophy along the way, and Kehrer believes the 49-year-old's experience with big-name players will serve him well in Munich.

  When asked how he dealt with the superstar squad he inherited at PSG, Kehrer said of Tuchel: "On the one hand he solved it with his tactical expertise and meticulousness. On the other hand, he is very intelligent in his dealings. Where do you demand discipline? Where do you give players a certain amount of freedom?

  "He did that very well in Paris, although it's not an easy situation for a coach. I'm also confident that he will do well at Bayern Munich."

• Flick expects Schlotterbeck to be available for Dortmund's Klassiker clash with Bayern

  

  Hansi Flick says the injury that ruled Nico Schlotterbeck out of Germany duty is "nothing serious" and the defender should return for Borussia Dortmund's clash with Bayern Munich.

  Schlotterbeck started Germany's 2-0 win over Peru last week, but he has been ruled out of Tuesday's friendly with Belgium in Cologne due to a thigh injury.

  However, the 23-year-old – who has both played in (36) and started (33) the most games of any BVB player this season – is expected to be available for Saturday's trip to Bayern.

  "We didn't want to take any risks with him," Flick said at Monday's pre-match press conference. "It's nothing serious and in two or three days he'll be back on the pitch."

  Bundesliga leaders Dortmund head into Der Klassiker a point better off than Bayern, who sacked Julian Nagelsmann and replaced him with Thomas Tuchel last week.

  Chelsea attacker Kai Havertz was another withdrawal from the Germany squad due to illness ahead of the prestige friendly with Belgium at RheinEnergieStadion.

  Flick announced Thilo Kehrer and Serge Gnabry will come into the starting line-up in place of Schlotterbeck and Havertz respectively, with "one or two" other changes possible.

  Belgium kicked off a new era under Domenico Tedesco with a 3-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win over Sweden thanks to Romelu Lukaku's hat-trick in Stockholm.

  The Red Devils are in somewhat of a transition period, with a number of their 'Golden Generation' making way after their recent World Cup group-stage exit.

  Germany head coach Flick expects the nation ranked fourth in the world to pose more of a challenge than Peru.

  "We started the new year with a win, but in Belgium we have an opponent of a different calibre," he said.

  "They have a new coach and a new spirit. You can see immediately they have outstanding footballers in their ranks.

  "They are able to defend compactly, but they are also convincing in an attacking sense when they have possession of the ball. They scored brilliant goals against Sweden.

  "Even under pressure they always find good solutions. In terms of football, they are one of the best teams and will be a good opponent for us to measure ourselves against."

• Fowler yet to miss as West Coast Fever hold off GIANTS 74-73 to go 2-0 in Suncorp Super Netball League

  Jhanielle Fowler was perfect from the field and needed to be as the defending Suncorp Super League Netball Champions West Coast Fever held off GIANTS to win by a single goal 74-73 on Saturday at the Ken Rosewall Arena.

  The Fever’s shooters missed just once with Sasha Glasgow scoring five goals from her six attempts and hit crucial super shots in the thrilling encounter that ended with the defending champions going 2-0 in their first two games of the season. They won both games by one goal.

  Reigning MVP Fowler scored 59 goals from as many attempts and has now scored 167 straight goals without a miss in the league. Her last miss came during the first quarter of last season’s final.

  The GIANTS welcomed back Maddie Hay and Jo Harten into their line-up and they proved to be exactly what their team needed. Still, the Fever led 21-20 at the end of the first quarter.

  On the back of Fowler’s accurate shooting, the Fever opened up a lead, which extended to as wide as 10 goals but were eventually reeled in by the GIANTS, who were eventually outscored 19-17 in the second quarter to lead by three at the half.

  Harten scored 22 goals from 23 attempts and Sophie Dwyer 21 from 24 as GIANTS looked to rally but were forced to depend heavily on super shots to keep them close to the champions who outscored them 23-15 in the third quarter.

  However, the GIANTS did rally with Harten and Dwyer shooting the lights out to outscore The Fever 21-11 in the final quarter but the lead proved too much to overcome.

  Over at the Nissan Arena, Kadie-Ann Dehaney’s Sunshine Coast Lightning defeated Queensland Firebirds 65-55. Meanwhile, a power outage at the SA Netball Stadium resulted in a 25-25 tie between the Adelaide Thunderbirds and the New South Wales Swifts.

  Romelda Aiken-George had scored 15 goals from 19 attempts when the game was called off.