For this Friday’s international game against China, German coach Joachim Löw sets his trust on his more experienced players. Because of a somewhat depleted roster of 17 players and the fact, that Arne Friedrich was unable to participate in Thursday’s public practice session, Robert Huth of FC Middlesbrough is expected to start in the friendly match. Newcomers such as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (FC Schalke), Cacau (VfB Stuttgart) and Christian Träsch (VfB Stuttgart) will most likely be on the reserve's bench first.
Apart from Friedrich, defender Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04) and midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern München) had to rest for at least part of Thursday's practice session. Westermann had suffered a hit on the heel on Wednesday, while Schweinsteiger's ailing back forced him to leave Thursday's session early.
Medical staff are nevertheless optimistic, that Schweinsteiger will be ready-to-go for the match. The decision on Friedrich and Westermann on the other hand will be taken shortly before kick-off.
Earlier, German National Coach Joachim Löw had appointed Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski to start on the attack, while Robert Enke (Hannover 96) will be the starting goalkeeper, even though the 31-year-old had suffered a painful head laceration during the last league match in Bielefeld, which had to be suturated.
Manuel Neuer will get his first cap in the match against the United Arab Emirates in Dubai on Tuesday.
[DFB.de]
Germany manager Joachim Löw has called up 27-year-old defender Manuel Friedrich of FSV Mainz 05 for the friendly match against Sweden on Wednesday. Friedrich is the only player in the German squad who did not participate at the FIFA World Cup 2006.
Friedrich got the chance to play due to injuries of defenders Robert Huth and Per Mertesacker. "The personal situation offers the possibility to give Manuel Friedrich a new chance. He played well last season and he missed the World Cup squad only by little", Löw said.
The record against the Swedish team is quite balanced with 13 wins, seven draws and twelve losses in a total of 32 matches. The last encounter took place during the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup in Germany on June 24, 2006, when Lukas Podolski scored both goals in a 2-0 victory of the German team.
The match kicks-off at 8.45 CEST in Gelsenkirchen. Stay tuned to this page for the latest scores and news from the German Football Team.
