Record-breaking Germany face Azerbaijan on Sunday with head coach Joachim Loew insisting their simple goal is to "ruthlessly" secure World Cup qualification as quickly as possible.

Germany's Lukas Podolski capped his international swansong with a sensational goal to give the world champions a 1-0 victory over England in a friendly on Wednesday.

After a year scarred by scandal and sporting catastrophe, Gareth Southgate will begin his attempt to steer England into calmer waters in Wednesday's friendly against Germany in Dortmund.

Fans at next year's World Cup and this year's Confederations Cup in Russia will need special identity cards before they can watch matches, soccer's governing body said Thursday.

Germany's World Cup winner Mario Goetze has been left out of Borussia Dortmund's squad for Tuesday's Champions League last 16, first-leg, clash against Benfica.

Bayern Munich edged past Werder Bremen 2-1 on Saturday for a Bundesliga record 13th consecutive win over them to stay three points clear at the top of the table.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice, including a stoppage-time winner as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from a goal down to beat Freiburg 2-1 on Friday and open up a six point lead as the league resumed after the winter break.

German football fans have a daily newspaper dedicated to the game for the first time with the launch of "FussballBild" ('FootballBild'), to coincide with the resuming of the Bundesliga season, on Friday.

Germany international Max Kruse admitted he was lucky to have walked away from a car crash having reported for training hours after wrecking the vehicle he was driving on Thursday.

German hockey coach Oliver Kurtz has been sitting idle in the capital for the last two days as an his appointment as Bangladesh national team's head coach has stalled over a row between the Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) and one of its vice presidents.

Cagey veteran Richard Gasquet led France to a 2-1 win over Germany at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth on Monday.

Julian Draxler had the world at his feet when Wolfsburg paid Schalke 35 million euros ($37.3m) back in August 2015 for Germany's rising star.

Eintracht Frankfurt went third in the Bundesliga with a 3-0 victory over 10-man Mainz on Tuesday, their first win in four on the final round of 2016 matches.

Borussia Dortmund missed a bagful of chances to draw 1-1 at home with Augsburg on Tuesday, as they squandered the opportunity to make up ground in the Bundesliga title race heading into the winter break.

Bayern Munich face an acid test of their status as Bundesliga leaders in Wednesday's crunch showdown when they host second-placed RB Leipzig, who know they have nothing to lose.

Borussia Dortmund can set a new Champions League goal record at Real Madrid on Wednesday if the likes of Marco Reus, Ousmane Dembele or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang score at the Bernabeu.

Bayern Munich ended a three-match winless run when they beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 on Saturday, although the Bundesliga champions still had to cling on at the end.

World Cup holders Germany were placed in Group B for the 2017 Confederations Cup alongside Chile, Australia and the winner of next year's Africa Cup of Nations at Saturday's draw in Kazan.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has been ruled out of Bayern Munich's trip to Russia to face Rostov in the Champions League on Wednesday, the German champions said in a statement.

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich face a stern challenge to their place at the top of the table this weekend when Carlo Ancelotti's Bavarian giants play Borussia Dortmund away on Saturday.