Germany vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina | UEFA Nations League | Pre Match

Needing just a point to all but guarantee a first-placed finish in League A Group 3 of the UEFA Nations League, Germany welcome Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Europa-Park Stadion in Freiburg on Saturday.

Julian Nagelsmann's side have already assured themselves of a spot in the quarter-finals, while their visitors are not completely out of contention despite an appalling set of results so far.

Fuelled by the agony of a quarter-final exit at their home European Championships this summer, Germany will soon have the chance to right some last-eight wrongs, as Nagelsmann's side wrapped up a Nations League quarter-final berth with two games to spare.

Dropping just two points from their opening four fixtures in Group 3, Die Mannschaft had Deniz Undav to thank for a 2-1 beating of upcoming opponents Bosnia last month, before another unsung national team hero sank the Netherlands in their most recent battle.

With just over an hour played against the Dutch, debutant Jamie Leweling marked his maiden appearance with the winning goal in a 1-0 triumph, putting Germany five points clear of Hungary and the Netherlands and on the cusp of confirming their status as group winners.

Victory on Saturday will guarantee a first-placed finish for the Germans, and the only scenario where a draw would not be enough is if Hungary defeat the Netherlands at the same time and also thump Nagelsmann's men by more than five goals on the final matchday.

Such a scenario is unfathomable for the 2014 World Cup winners, but they would do well to eliminate that miniscule shred of doubt with a triumph at the weekend, which would coincidentally also extinguish Bosnia-Herzegovina's faint hopes of sneaking into the top two.

Yo-yoing from League B to League A ever since the inaugural Nations League in 2018-19, Bosnia-Herzegovina's pattern of promotion followed by immediate relegation looks set to continue barring a miraculous set of circumstances this month.

The Golden Lilies have only managed to accrue one point from 12 on offer in League A Group 3 thus far, holding Hungary to a goalless draw on September 10, but they were beaten 2-0 by the same opponents last time out courtesy of a Dominik Szoboszlai double.

Owing to that comprehensive defeat, the aforementioned loss to Germany and 5-2 humiliation at the hands of the Netherlands, Bosnia need to win and hope that the other game between Hungary and the Dutch finishes level if they are to have any hope of making the knockout rounds.

A more likely outcome is Sergej Barbarez's side being condemned to the defeat that would send them straight back down to League B, as their abysmal winless run in all competitions now stands at 10 matches since beating Liechtenstein in a 2023 Euros qualifier.

Nine of those 10 contests have ended in defeat for Bosnia, whose only previous trip to Germany saw them go down 3-1 to Die Mannschaft in a 2010 friendly, where current captain Edin Dzeko opened the scoring before Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger inspired a comeback.