German football is riding a wave of popularity at the moment with the Bundesliga enjoying a gripping title race and its national sides all sparkling on the international stage.
While Joachim Low's senior team are top of their World Cup Qualifying group, it is their youth sides that have attracted a lot of attention lately. The U-19 and U-17 teams have produced some noteworthy results, but it is the U-21 side who are grabbing most of the headlines.
Despite not having a permanent manager, the U-21's lost only once in qualifying for this summer's Uefa U-21 Championship and even that result - 1-0 away to Moldova - could have swung either way as the home side were fortunate to benefit from an own goal.
That narrow defeat was the only blip on an almost perfect qualifying campaign that saw them collect five wins, including a 7-0 thrashing of Luxembourg. Then they had to overcome a tricky two-legged play-off with France to secure their passage through to the group stages of the Championship.
New manager
Horst Hrubesch is currently in temporary charge of the team, although he could be handed the reins on a full-time basis if he can keep leading his young side to impressive results.
In November, they claimed a narrow victory over Italy in a friendly in Osnabruck. Toni Kroos scored the only goal of the game on 48 minutes, but the performance registered by the Germans turned a lot of heads as they had halted the progress of a much-talked-about Italian team.
Style of play
With so many talented players on their roster, Hrubesch has the luxury of being able to switch formations in certain games. He usually favours a 4-5-1 system, but that can easily change to a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, depending on how the game is going. Having players like Toni Kroos, Rouwen Hennings, and Mesut Ozil to choose from in attack allows him to deploy certain players in a variety of different positions.
The emphasis is definitely placed on attack with this team, although it works off a solid structure that starts with a sturdy defence. Andreas Beck, Sebastian Boenisch, and Daniel Schwaab are three players that regularly make up their defensive line in front of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, although Florian Fromlowitz is pushing him for the number one jersey.
This team is a hybrid of the old-style German teams that featured the likes of Franz Beckenbauer and Lothar Matthaus and the relatively new free-flowing team that did so well under Jurgen Klinsmann. They play a counter-attack game that uses speedy widemen and a central playmaker, but doesn't neglect the defensive characteristics that their precedessors were known for.
Preparing for Ireland
The last time that Ireland played Germany at this level was in 2007 and nothing could divide the teams as a Stephen Gleeson brace meant the match ended 2-2 in Furth. It was a tough game for Don Givens' side and a number of players from that German team should feature in this friendly outing, so they will know what to expect.
"It is great for us to be playing countries such as Germany and Spain," said Ireland boss Givens.
"These are the sort of teams you want to be playing because it will be a real test for the players."
Germany will kick off this summer's U-21 Championship with a match against Spain - who play Ireland at the RSC on March 27th. So they will be eager to use all of their friendly games as a way of gauging how far they still have to go in preparation for the big tournament.
Five to Watch
Andreas Beck (TSG Hoffenheim)
Beck is the right-back and key defensive player for Germany U-21's. He is the type of player that is marked down as reliable and consistenly produces solid displays for club and country. But he has made improvements to his game over the past few months and is now just as good going forward as he is when defending.
Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich)
Big things are expected of this young attacker, who created two assists on his Bundesliga debut. He can play anywhere across the midfield or up front, although he prefers to attack with the ball at his feet. After lighting up the Fifa U-17 World Cup in 2007, he was awarded the Golden Ball trophy and handed a new contract at Bayern, where he now competes for a place in their star-studded line-up.
Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen)
After making his name at Schalke 04, this exciting midfielder had a trail of clubs chasing him in the summer. In the end. he signed for Bremen and that looks to have been a wise decision as he is now one of their most creative players and is seen as a natural successor to Brazilian playmaker Diego, who is expected to leave the club this summer.
Gonzalo Castro (Bayer Leverkusen)
While he is still able to play at U-21 level, Castro has already won five caps for the senior team. Due to his electric performances for Leverkusen this season, this right-sided player has put himself in contention for a place in Joachim Low's squad. Although if he does feature against Ireland, then he will be a real threat with his powerful surges forward.
Ashkan Dejagah (Wolfsburg)
This 22-year-old could have declared for Iran, but instead chose to play for his adopted country. However, he caused a lot of fuss in 2007 when he refused to play in a match against Israel. Since then he has worked his way into the first-team at Wolfsburg and is a striker with deadly pace, a thunderbolt of a shot, and the strength to hold up play.