Löw: Neuer and Ter Stegen will battle it out to be number one

Germany boss Joachim Löw would not reveal whether he intends to start captain Manuel Neuer or Marc-Andre ter Stegen for Wednesday's friendly against Serbia.

Neuer, 32, started each of Germany's three games during their disastrous World Cup 2018 campaign and retained his spot for all four of their Nations League fixtures, when Die Mannschaft were relegated out of the top tier to complete a miserable year.

Löw has already shown he is not afraid to move on from the stars that won the World Cup five years ago, with Bayern Munich trio Mats Hummels, Jérôme Boateng and Thomas Müller all no longer under consideration.

Bayern's Neuer is still part of Löw's plans, though his spot as Germany's number one has come under fresh scrutiny after his disappointing performance in Bayern's Champions League exit to Liverpool last week, with ex-Germany captain Lothar Matthäus suggesting that Ter Stegen's "world-class achievements over the past two years" with Barcelona have earned him the opportunity to win the starting berth.

And while Löw stressed earlier this week that Germany captain Neuer remains his first-choice keeper, he claimed Ter Stegen would still be given starts and would not reveal who will line up between the posts against Serbia on Wednesday.

"We haven't made a decision yet [over] who will start in goal," Low told reporters at a news conference.

"We will wait until the last training [session]. As I said recently, we have many important games this year and only two friendlies against Serbia and Argentina. So Marc will get his chances - that's what I already said.

"How exactly we are going to do it [on Wednesday], I don't know yet. We will talk tonight and with the goalkeepers first."

Germany begin their Euro 2020 qualification campaign against Netherlands on Sunday.

Löw's stance on Hummels, Boateng and Muller is an indication he wants the national team to move in a new direction, and he added that he would support his young players in the hope they can develop in international football.

"We now face a new time, a new challenge," Low said. "I have to give the team the feeling that we fully trust them.

"We have to give them the chance to develop, take over more responsibilities and also, during a rough patch, offer more solutions when they make mistakes so they have the trust to go into the next months."