Germany: Alan McInally looks at Joachim Low's side's success

Germany will secure their spot in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with a win over Republic of Ireland on Friday night.

Do Germany also have a clear footballing philosophy? ALAN SAYS: Yes. I'm sure managers of England and Scotland have a clear idea but Germany have showcased their set way of playing for a while, with minimal alterations in the last two or three years. There was a meeting a while back between Low and all the German clubs where it was stressed that they wanted one way of playing, this 4-2-3-1 formation that served Bayern and Dortmund so well last year. If you are doing that for your club, it makes it so much easier to do the same thing for your country and it would make sense if lots of FAs and clubs followed the German example, but I guess it can be difficult to implement. Are Germany's players more passionate about international football than England's? ALAN SAYS: German players see playing for their country as the pinnacle - but there's no way playing for England still carries the honour it used to; I think the players are absolutely delighted if they get picked for their country and over the moon when they pull on the shirt, but I don't think they give as much of a damn if they are not in the squad, a squad player should not be paid to be part of it. In Germany the bar has been raised so high that the young players are desperate to be part of it and England need to get that back because at the moment I don't think young players are bothered. That is a real shame as while I have played abroad there is nothing better than representing your country. Belgium are on the cusp of World Cup qualification, too. How good are they? ALAN SAYS: I don't think, other than Germany, that there is any European team with a better chance in South America next year than Belgium. Belgium's current crop of players is extraordinary; they have a real abundance of talent, talent that is still young enough to develop, and while they have star names like Eden Hazard and Marouane Fellaini, I think they are actually better than they are given credit for. They have coasted through qualifying but I don't think they are playing with as much conviction as they can because they have never had that expectation before and never been seen as an international force. Belgium will surprise a lot of people in Brazil and I think they will be right up there for not just the World Cup but in the Euros in France in 2016. And finally, how confident are you that Scotland are on the up? ALAN SAYS: I have known Gordon Strachan for a long time so know just how bloody-minded he is, but he has mellowed a bit and just wants to see some improvement in Scotland's game. There has been some - we won 1-0 in Croatia and we made sure things weren't easy for Belgium - but the problem for Gordon is that he doesn't have a massive pool of players to pick from. Things are still very much a work in progress but I hope the work being done stands us in good stead for the Euros.