Germany’s Julian Draxler in action with Northern Ireland’s Oliver Norwood Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Berlin: Julian Draxler will miss Germany's final World Cup qualifier on Sunday against Azerbaijan with flu as the hosts chase a record 10 straight wins on the road to Russia.
Paris Saint-Germain star Draxler played on the right wing in Germany's 3-1 win against Northern Ireland in Belfast on Thursday which confirmed the world champions' place at next year's World Cup in Russia.
The Germans can finish with a perfect record of 10 victories from their qualifying games with a victory against Azerbaijan in Kaiserslautern (kick-off 1845 GMT).
Germany has never qualified for a World Cup finals before with a 100 percent record.
If they beat Azerbaijan, they will become only the second country to win all 10 games in a European qualifying campaign after Spain first achieved the feat on the road to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Draxler is the second big-name to pull out of Sunday's final qualifier after defensive midfielder Toni Kroos withdrew with a rib injury.
Even with Kroos and Draxler out, Germany head coach Joachim Loew still has 21 players to select from and will not call up any replacements.
