Three wins in a row have brought Japan’s campaign back on track and the Samurai Blues are in second place, which would lead to a place at the World Cup.

After a solid start to the season, the 25-year-old has gone from strength to strength having scored in eight of his last nine Premier League appearances.

Coaching milestone: This was Edin Terzic’s 50th Bundesliga match as a head coach (all for BVB). The 40-year-old’s record is impressive: there have been 32 wins, five draws and 13 defeats. The win rate is a strong 64%.

Justin Njinmah has taken the opportunity to prove his Bundesliga quality. Playing in Germany’s top flight is his dream. The 22-year-old attacker spent the last year and a half on loan at Borussia Dortmund’s third division side, and his stint there fully paid off. With his contract extension at SV Werder, Njinmah wants to take the next step in his career. “I want to prove myself here,” said the Hamburg native. “Even if I have to get in line first, I know how to fight for my place.”

Should neither Sane or Gnabry live up to those expectations, it would represent a big fall from grace for the duo. Bayern worked very hard to bring both to the club in the first place; in particular, they spent some €50m to bring Sane from Manchester City and were originally willing to break the bank for him, potentially up to 100m. The two had become the successors to legends Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, also inheriting their number 10 and 7 shirts. Clearly, Bayern have placed enormous faith in the duo.

The venue for the cup tie this year has not yet been determined.

Thursday Alternative to the fan trip to the training camp The trip to the training camp...

Looking forward to meeting former club, but all focus on Schalke

The DFB confirmed the dates and kick-off times for the first round of the cup on Wednesday. VfB visit Balingen on Saturday 12 August at 13:00 CEST.

As Union dug into the reserves, a brilliant combination from Niko Gießelmann and Kruse unlocked the Gladbach defence to bag all three points before the international break.