Mario Gomez hammered in four goals as mighty Germany drubbed the UAE 7-2 in an international friendly on a warm, humid night at Al Nasr's Maktoum Stadium.
Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski celebrating a goal. © Bongarts/GettyImages
The spirited UAE team did a good job in matching the Germans till the 28th minute. But once Heiko Westermann had opened the scoring two minutes from the half hour mark, the floodgates opened and the hosts did not know what hit them.
Mohammad Shehi had the first chance on the German goal as early as in the third minute when he connected with a cross from Esmail Al Hammadi only to see an alert Manuel Neuer, who was making his international debut, equal to the occasion.
Neuer made his international debut at Dubai. © Bongarts/GettyImages
But as the match progressed, the Germans started taking over and Lukas Podolski could only watch in dismay as his shot rebounded off the upright in the ninth minute. Instead, it was defender Westermann who capped off a fine exchange of passes by Trochowski and Philipp Lahm to open the scoring on the night.
And once the Germans got that first goal they seem to have found their rhythm as they went on scoring at ease. Podolski unselfishly passed on to an unmarked Gomez to tap into an empty goal for the second in the 34th minute, while Trochowski finished off a swift move on the right to make it 3-0 by the 38th minute. Gomez scored his second with a clinical finish from close range in injury time as the Germans walked off at halftime with a 4-0 cushion.
Gomez completed his hat-trick within two minutes of the second half and Bastian Schweinsteiger added his name to the score sheet in the 52nd minute to make it an embarrassing 6-0.
Schweinsteiger, with the ball, fighting off UAE players. © Bongarts/GettyImages
The Germans eased back a bit after this onslaught, allowing the home side some amount of space upfront. Esmail Al Hammadi was the first to exploit this rare liberty as his powerful grounder from inside the box in the 54th minute caught Neuer off-guard to finally get UAE on the score board.
Substitute Nawaf Mubarak managed to secure a second for the home side in the 73rd minute when his long distance strike beat the Schalke custodian, with the ball shaving the woodwork on its way in.
But Gomez, who transferred to Bayern Munich from VfB Stuttgart at the end of the season, had the last say when he provided a stylish finish to the game with a goal from an almost impossible angle in stoppage time to record his fourth of the match to end the game at 7-2.
The four goals ended Gomez's international goal drought in spectacular fashion. His last international goal came more than a year ago against Switzerland in a friendly international in March last year. After a disappointing Euro 2008 on a personal level, the striker had fallen into a rut and this four goals would be a big boost of confidence to him.
This was the final match of the season for the German national team. Their first game next season would be played against Azerbaijan in Baku on the 12th of August.
Stay tuned to German Football Team as we continue to bring you the latest news and updates from the German national team's preparations for World Cup 2010!
In the absence of regular captain Michael Ballack, the experienced Bastian Schweinsteiger has been chosen as the national team skipper for the friendly match against Dubai tomorrow. Schweinsteiger was thrilled to take up the position of leading the national side. "When you get a chance to play for the national team, it doesn't matter if it is Dubai, France or Alaska," he said.
"I will be leading the team from the front. We need to be clever when we play the UAE. We must let the ball do all the running. As we experienced in the China match, I doubt this is going to be an easy outing for us," noted the new captain.
With the heat and humidity playing a crucial role, Germany hope the ball will do the talking for them as they prepare to face hosts UAE in a friendly at the Al Nasr Club tomorrow.
"This match will be anything but easy for us considering the unusual heat and humidity at this part of the year here. The heat hits you really badly, but we will have to really cope with it and deliver a good brand of football," Oliver Bierhoff, manager of the team told the media at an official press conference yesterday.
In addition, the former German star admitted that fatigue may play a crucial role in the outcome of the game.
"Our players have had a tough season and they are tired. But more than that, they are tired after this long trip between Germany, China and the UAE," he stated.
Germany held out for a 1-1 draw in Shanghai against China last Friday and then took the next flight out to Dubai for the friendly against the UAE. "One of our missions is to take the team abroad and add better brand value to the national side. This is also an opportunity to bring together business and sport," Bierhoff stated.
Despite the odds stacked against them, Bierhoff was confident his side would come up with a creditable performance.
"The temperature may not be too much of a problem, but the humidity would be an issue. Hopefully, our players will adapt the conditions in the next couple of days," he added.
He further reiterated that the friendly is an apt chance for head coach Joachim Loew to bleed new faces into the squad. "With the World Cup one year away, this is correct time to start building a team for the future. Hence this match will be a true test for us. And with just 17 players at his disposal, the coach is on record that he is willing to give everyone a chance to play," the German manager remarked.
[Gulf News]
The German national team touched down in Dubai on Saturday evening on an Emirates flight from Shanghai.
Germany fought from an early goal to hold China to a 1-1 draw in an international friendly late on Friday and then took the next flight out to land in Dubai.
"The weather and the effects of the long nine-hour flight may prove important when we play against the UAE," stated Bayern Munich star Philipp Lahm.
"It was difficult against China yesterday...it may be more difficult against the UAE on Tuesday," he shrugged.
Coach Joachim Loew was excited about the prospects of leading a transitional German side against the UAE. "I am aware of how they play and considering the 2010 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, I am taking this friendly very seriously," Loew told Gulf News.
"For us this match will be part of our building up exercise for this team," he added.
Germany will play the UAE in an international friendly at the Al Nasr Club ground at 10 pm on June 2.
The German side has most of its stars in its fold barring influential playmaker and captain Michael Ballack who played last night in Chelsea's win against Everton in the FA Cup final.
[Gulf News]
Germany’s demanding football fans have to be satisfied with a 1-1 tie in Shanghai, on the very first appearance of a German national team in China.
Although the two nations are 95 places apart in the FIFA World Rankings, China had the better chances but were denied by a combination of Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke and poor finishing.
Just five minutes into the game, the hosts shocked Germany by taking the lead. Hao Junmin scored on a shot from short distance, leaving German keeper Robert Enke little chance for a save. Germany responded three minutes later, when Lukas Podolski tied the game on a clever assist by Bastian Schweinsteiger. It was the 33rd goal during Podolski’s international career, letting him share eleventh place in Germany's all-time goalscorers with 1954 World Champion Fritz Walter.
China continued their aggressive and fast-paced style of football. Led by first-time captain Philipp Lahm, the German team, decimated by injuries and even more cancellations due to the DFB Pokal final this weekend, had no easy pickings against the Chinese. Enke saved a shot by Zhao Xuri (21.). Hannover’s goalkeeper displayed courage and attitude, as he played without bandages despite the head lacerations he had received in the Bundesliga finale.
Christian Gentner from German champions VfL Wolfsburg and striker Cacau were the 25th and 26th debutants during the reign of Joachim Löw. With German captain Michael Ballack absent because of the FA Cup final, Gentner played next to Thomas Hitzlsperger in midfield. Center defense was manned by Robert Huth and Arne Friedrich, who celebrated his 30th birthday in Shanghai. Cacau substituted teammate Mario Gomez after 64 minutes.
Six minutes from time Bastian Schweinsteiger had the biggest opportunity to score the winning goal, when he broke free in front of the Chinese goal, but shot the ball just wide.
Germany now fly to Dubai where they will face the United Arab Emirates in their second and final tour match next Tuesday.
[DFB.de]
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]
A weakened Germany squad arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday for an ill-timed Asia tour which they hope will offer a chance for fringe players to stake a claim for a ticket to the 2010 World Cup finals.
Germany will provide the opposition for new China coach Gao Hongbo's first match in charge at the Shanghai Stadium on Friday before moving on to Dubai for an encounter with the United Arab Emirates on June 2.
With Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen contesting Saturday's German Cup final, and captain Michael Ballack on Chelsea duty in the English equivalent, however, coach Joachim Loew travelled East without a string of regular players. "Obviously, we'll have to replace some players," team manager Oliver Bierhoff told the DFB website.
"Our two games in Asia offer us the opportunity for a final checkup, before the start of the 'World Cup season'," he added.
"Our coaching staff intends to cut the roster of candidate players for South Africa to 30. Thirty five players would be an absolute maximum. For some players, these two games in Shanghai and Dubai offer the chance to catch the coaches' eyes."
Young Squad
Among the five uncapped players in the squad is Brazilian-born Stuttgart striker Cacau, who became a German citizen in February.
While Loew's squad is well on course to qualify for next year's World Cup finals, Gao is trying to rally a struggling footballing nation whose team flopped out of contention for a spot in South Africa as early as last June.
With half an eye on the 2014 World Cup, Gao has picked a young squad and is hoping to get a measure of how good, or bad, his 97th-ranked team is against Germany, who are second in FIFA's rankings.
"I think it is a very good chance to build a team and get to know the players," Gao told reporters.
"Through the match with Germany, we can check out the how far China is behind the world football."
Chinese football has been in the doldrums for several years, becoming associated with violence and corruption off the pitch and ineptitude on it.
Friday's match is unlikely to fill the 80,000-seater stadium, even if the Bundesliga has a large following in China as one of the few top leagues broadcast free to air nationwide.
[Reuters via Guardian]
German national team coach Joachim Löw has called-upon four novices for the upcoming trip to Asia. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Christian Träsch (VfB Stuttgart), Christian Gentner (VfL Wolfsburg) and Cacau (VfB Stuttgart) belong to a roster of 18 players that Joachim Löw presented on Tuesday. Germany face China in Shanghai on May 29 and the United Arab Emirates in Dubai on June 2.
Bayern München’s forward Miroslav Klose was not nominated. Klose (88 caps) has just recuperated from an ankle injury, that had him sidelined for two months. Löw and Klose agreed, that he needs further recovery time. “Following my injury, I just had one brief appearance in the Bundesliga. To play two internationals within a few days, I just don’t feel ready for that yet. I will focus on my rehabilitory program in Munich.”
For the first time since the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 24-year old defender Robert Huth (FC Middlesbrough) could play for the German squad. “We never gave up on Robert. When we had him on the field at a tournament, he has always performed well. He has played a good season in the Premier League, so we look forward to his return”, said Löw.
[DFB.de]
Highlights from the game available here.
Germany won the game 2-0.
>> Highlights: Wales vs. Germany
A well-organised Norway took advantage of some diabolical defending to beat Germany 1-0 in Dusseldorf tonight.
Christian Grindheim's goal in the 63rd minute earned Egil Olsen's side a deserved victory against a lacklustre Germany, who followed up their defeat to England in Berlin late last year with a second straight loss on home soil.
The victory will have boosted Olsen's hopes of keeping the Norway job on a permanent basis.
Germany coach Joachim Low left the major experimentation for the second half, picking the experienced Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings in the centre of his midfield with first-choice strikers Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose also starting.
And they both combined for the first chance of the game in the 11th minute with Gomez going close to opening the scoring.
In fact, the Stuttgart striker, who was on target twice for his club in the Bundesliga last weekend, probably should have done better when he was found unmarked at the far post by Klose, but he volleyed the ball back across the face of goal.
Norway packed 11 men behind the ball and waited for their chances on the break.
With the Germany defence failing to convince for the whole 90 minutes, every time the red shirts did surge forward, a goalscoring opportunity seemed certain.
Like in the 13th minute when Thorstein Helstad raced past Per Mertesacker, who only just managed to recover in time to block the Norway striker's shot.
The guests should have been given a penalty in the 21st minute when Heiko Westermann failed to use his brakes as he charged into Daniel Braaten just inside the penalty area.
Germany were let off the hook once again 60 seconds later when Rene Adler made a remarkable one-handed save to deny Helstad as the German defence was again all at sea.
There were still a few chances for the home team in the first half with Piotr Trochowski and Philipp Lahm both going close from similar positions after cutting into the left-hand side of the penalty area.
Gomez was the hosts' most dangerous player and he went closer than any other player in a white shirt to scoring in the 58th minute with Norway goalkeeper Rune Almenning Jarstein making a fine save on the stretch to deny him.
Five minutes later, Norway went ahead with the German defensive frailties laid bare.
Helstad missed the chance to divert Morten Gamst Pedersen's low cross into the back of the net, but it did not matter as the ball still found its way through to Grindheim, who had an easy finish at the far post.
Low awarded Mesut Ozil his first cap with 12 minutes to go, securing the Werder Bremen midfielder indefinitely as a Germany international, but that remained the only positive on a disappointing night in the Dusseldorf Arena.
The 45,000 fans who had braved the freezing, snowy conditions in reaching the stadium found little comfort inside the heated, fully-covered arena and they made their disapproval clear, whistling for much of the second half.
And Germany left the field to a chorus of boos as they made a disappointing start to the year 2009.
Germany coach Joachim Low has awarded first international call-ups to Mesut Ozil and Andreas Beck while Robert Enke and Lukas Podolski have been left out of the 21-man squad to face Norway in a friendly next Wednesday.
Ozil has recently committed himself to the Germany national team despite advances from Turkey, who he would also be eligible to represent.
Should he earn his first cap next Wednesday, he would officially only be able to represent Germany in future and Low is ready to hand him that after a chat last Friday.
"The Turkish Football Association have been trying hard to get him recently and we decided to sit back for a while until he decided whether he wanted to play for the Germany national team," said Low. "In a telephone conversation last Friday, he told me that he wants to play for our team in future.
"That made it only obvious that we would nominate him in the squad for the Norway game."
Werder Bremen midfielder Ozil was born in Germany and is the third generation of a Turkish family that settled in the country.
He said it had been difficult "because my family and many of my friends come from Turkey," but he feels he has "made the right decision".
He added: "This is not a decision against my Turkish roots. I am delighted to be called up and will look to take my chance with the Germany national team."
Defender Beck has impressed for Bundesliga leaders Hoffenheim this season and is likely to earn his first cap on Wednesday.
"We took a good look at him last year and now we want to give him the chance to prove himself with us," explained Low. "He has developed well at Hoffenheim and that is why we want to test him on the right-hand side in the national team.
"He is one of the young and dynamic players with potential who we particularly want to promote."
Low has named only two goalkeepers in his squad in Bayer Leverkusen's Rene Adler and Werder Bremen's Tim Wiese.
Many had been expecting Hannover's Enke to return after he came through his first 90 minutes following a four-month injury lay-off in the Bundesliga at the weekend, but Low explained a return to the national team right now had come too soon.
"After a long absence, Robert has only played one game in the Bundesliga," he said. "We know what he can do and it is important for him now to get more match practice over the coming weeks."
Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings are both back in the squad after missing the defeat by England last year while Stefan Kiessling returns to add to his single cap, picked up almost two years ago.
He takes the place of Bayern Munich striker Podolski, who has been excluded due to a lack of game time brought about by recent injuries and illness.
The squad will meet on Sunday evening to prepare for the game with Norway, which takes place in Dusseldorf.
Goalkeepers: Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)
Defenders: Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Andreas Hinkel (Celtic), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart), Heiko Westermann (Schalke)
Midfielders: Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Stuttgart), Marko Marin (Borussia Monchengladbach), Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)
Attackers: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Patrick Helmes, Stefan Kiessling (both Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich)
via Soccernet
England captain John Terry's header six minutes from time sealed a 2-1 win over Germany in Wednesday's friendly at Berlin's Olympic Stadium as Fabio Capello's weakened team beat the Euro 2008 runners-up.
A first-half goal by West Ham's Matthew Upson was cancelled out by Bayer Leverkusen Patrick Helmes' second-half equaliser following a mix-up in the England defence before Terry headed the winner in the closing stages.
It was England who scored first when they were rewarded for an early piece of pressure. Their second corner in quick succession was swung in and Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler looked to have been hindered by Jermain Defoe as he went to punch the ball clear. In the resulting scramble, Upson was the sharpest to react and stabbed the ball home on 23 minutes to put the visitors ahead as England controlled the first half with Germany's attack rarely threatening.
Both England and Germany made changes during half-time to their squad. The changes worked in Germany's favour as a horrible mix-up in the England defence between Terry and West Bromwich Albion shot-stopper Carson saw the ball bobble to Helmes who fired into an empty net on 63 minutes to equalise. But Terry rectified the situation with time running out when he rose higher than his marker Heiko Westermann to header past Wiese to give England the winner.
German coach Joachim Löw has nominated three newcomers to the line-up for Wednesday’s football classic against England. For the first time, defender Marvin Compper and midfielder Tobias Weis of 1899 Hoffenheim as well as Marcel Schäfer of VfL Wolfsburg received an invitation to the “Mannschaft”. Löw made his 20-player-roster for Wednesday’s game in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium public last week.
“This last game of the calendar year offers us an opportunity to try out some new things, to show some new wrinkles. All three novices earned their starts due to their recent performances in the Bundesliga”, said Löw.
Because of their injury status, several players usually indispensable components on the team were left off the list. Michael Ballack from FC Chelsea was not called-upon as well as Philipp Lahm (Bayern München), Clemens Fritz and Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Marcell Jansen (Hamburger Sport Verein) and Christian Pander (Schalke 04).
Nevertheless, Ballack, Frings and Lahm will travel to the German capital on Monday. As all three players represent the team counsel, they will participate in the scheduled negotiations with DFB President Dr. Theo Zwanziger and General Secretary Wolfgang Niersbach on the bonus payments for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying round.
The German coach has also announced that he intends to address the team about his expectations for the upcoming games on the road to South Africa.
In their last match of the year 2008, Germany host England on Wednesday in Berlin in an international friendly. The match will be played in the Olympic stadium and starts at 8.45 p.m CET.
It will be the 31st match-up between the Mannschaft and the Three Lions. England is one of the few teams that Germany has lost to more often than it has won. The British team won 14 matches and Germany only ten. The other matches ended in draws.
Nevertheless, Germany won the last encounter in London 2-1, when both teams met to mark the inauguration of the new Wembley stadium on August, 22nd 2007. Then, Kevin Kuranyi and Christian Pander scored for Germany. Germany also won the last match at the old Wembley stadium 1-0 in October 2007, before the iconic stadium was closed for its rebuilding.
Here are highlights from that game:
However, who can forget the last time Germany played at home against England in Munich? In the 2002 World Cup qualifier, Germany were soundly beaten 5-1 at the Olympic Stadium.
In case you've forgotten, here's a painful reminder of what happened back in 2001:
The last time they played in Berlin was in a 1972 European Championship quarter-final second leg, which ended goalless with West Germany going through 3-1 on aggregate to the four-team tournament, which they won.
With the long standing rivalry between these two great footballing nations, this game will probably be anything but 'friendly'. It certainly is an interesting game to look forward to indeed! Stay tuned for all the latest news and results from the game right here at German Football Team blog!
German coach Joachim Löw has informed Jens Lehman, that he will not nominate the 38-year old former goalkepper of the German national team for a farewell-appearance in the game against England on November 19.
Following the personal talk with Lehmann, Löw said: “Our group of young keepers needs the experience of these international matches. Obviously, a final appearance in the England game would have been a nice gesture towards Jens.
"Even more so, because Jens spend five years in Arsenal, and every fan remembers his heroic deeds in the Berlin Olympiastadion during the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against Argentina. All this considered, our team goals had to be given priority.”
Löw also praised Lehmann’s achievements wearing the Germany jersey. Lehmann played his final international in the EURO final against Spain in Vienna on June 29, 2008. He has been capped 61 times for Germany.
“Jens has done much for German football. During our four years working together, he has always been an important sounding board. I have been impressed by his leadership and his professionalism throughout.
"He was able to focus to the point, whether during practice sessions or in the games. I have met few players, who were able to contribute in such a positive and effective way."
The German National Team has started their new season with a 2-0 victory against Belgium. In front of 34,117 visitors in Nuremberg's World Cup arena, a penalty from Bastian Schweinsteiger and a coolly taken goal from youngster Marko Marin secured the win.
Schweinsteiger slotted his spot kick low into the net past goalkeeper Stijn Stijnen in the 59th minute after Danish referee Thomas Vejlgaard ruled Daniel van Buyten had fouled Mario Gomez.
With just 13 minutes left, substitute Marin exchanged passes with Philipp Lahm, skipped round a defender and curled a neat shot into the far corner in what was only the 19-year-old's second appearance for his country. The amazing goal shows once again the promise that the young Marin holds for the future of German football. Watch out for the goal in the match highlights below.
Serdar Taci from VfB Stuttgart made his debut in the National Team and played for the whole match in defence alongside Heiko Westermann, turning in a credible performance to help keep a clean sheet.
"Considering it's so early in the season it was good to see the ball moving around so rapidly," Germany coach Joachim Loew said in a television interview. "We tried to play some good football and it went pretty well."
Watch highlights of the game here.>>
Germany squandered a two-goal lead to draw against Belarus in their penultimate Euro 2008 warm-up friendly on Tuesday evening. The result leaves coach Joachim Low with much to think about as he still has to make his final squad selection of 23 players, out of the 26 he has currently chosen, for Austria and Switzerland by midday on Wednesday.
Miroslav Klose, a player guaranteed to make the final cut, put Germany ahead in the 10th minute while an own goal from Vladimir Korytko doubled their advantage 10 minutes later. Vitali Bulyga got one back after an hour and managed to grab an equaliser for battling Belarus two minutes from the end.
Low gave David Odonkor his first start since October in a midfield that also included captain Michael Ballack, who had just joined up with the team on Monday. Bayern Munich pair Klose and Lukas Podolski formed the attack with Mario Gomez left back at training camp in Mallorca due to a calf problem, while Real Madrid's Christoph Metzelder gained match practice at centre-back and Thomas Hitzlsperger slotted in at left-back.
And it did not take long for Low's new-look team to settle as Klose opened the scoring early on. Klose looked marginally offside when he received the ball from Podolski but kept his cool to round Belarus goalkeeper Vasili Khomutovski and tap home.
There was no doubt over the legitimacy of Germany's second goal as Korytko fired through his own net from Odonkor's teasing cross. Germany continued to dominate possession with Ballack pulling the strings at the heart of the midfield and almost setting up Klose for a third after 30 minutes.
Low gave Borussia Monchengladbach winger Marko Marin his debut at the start of the second half while Jermaine Jones was also given 45 minutes to prove himself, replacing Ballack at the restart. Jones came close to scoring his first international goal five minutes after entering the fray but his shot from the edge of the area was deflected just wide of the post.
Belarus narrowed the gap after an hour when Bulyga's shot from just inside the penalty area found the back of net despite the best efforts of Jens Lehmann.
Marin showed off some of his skills to dribble past three Belarus defenders and earn Germany a free-kick which Piotr Trochowski curled just side of the post as the home side looked to hit back immediately.
But it was Belarus who had the final laugh through the lively Bulyga, who showed up Metzelder's lack of fitness by outstripping the Madrid man on the edge of the area and firing a low shot beyond Lehmann which the goalkeeper will feel he might have kept out.
Germany will complete their warm-up programme on Saturday (31st May) against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen. They open their UEFA EURO 2008™ Group B bid against Poland in Klagenfurt on 8 June before facing Croatia there four days later. They then visit Vienna to take on co-hosts Austria on 16 June in their final group match.
Germany warmed up for Wednesday's Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovakia with a 2-0 friendly win over Georgia in Rostock on Saturday. A long-range shot from Bastian Schweinsteiger on 24 minutes and a 67th minute goal from captain Michael Ballack secured victory for Germany who now travel to Bratislava with confidence.
"We played with passion and lots of effort but the team had a lot of changes tonight and we naturally made a number of mistakes," said Germany coach Joachim Löw. "But the win is important and we now go into the Slovakia match full of confidence."
Schweinsteiger fired home a shot from 25 metres in the 24th minute after being set up by Ballack and he duly returned the favour in the second half at the Ostseestadion, finding his captain open on the left side of goal for a 22-metre shot in the 67th.
Bayern Munich marksman Lukas Podolski was sent off on 48 minutes for vicious dead ball kick against Georgia defender Zurab Khizanishvili but will not be suspended for the Slovakia game as this match was a friendly.
The Germans controlled Georgia most of the match but were plagued at times by sloppy defence and were lucky that two Georgia goals were disallowed for offside.
Löw rested several key players in anticipation for the upcoming qualifier against Slovakia, such as World Cup golden boot hero Mirsolav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Bernd Schneider and Torsten Frings. Werder Bremen defender Clemens Fritz and SV Hamburg midfielder Piotr Trochowski both made their debuts in the starting line-up as Low tested out some fresh faces.
'We had to integrate a lot of younger players going into their first match and had some problems in coordination,' Löw added. 'We wanted to give some people a chance to show what they can do. We were a bit lucky that we kept a clean sheet.'
Germany have started their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with a perfect two wins - a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland and a 13-0 annihilation of San Marino - but should beware of Slovakia who thrashed Wales 5-1 on Saturday.
New Germany coach Joachim Löw enjoyed a winning start as his side trounced a hapless Sweden 3-0 in a friendly here on Wednesday.
It was the perfect beginning for Löw, who has just taken over from Jürgen Klinsmann after this summer's World Cup, and the team will now be full of confidence for their first Euro 2008 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Stuttgart on September 2.
Löw started with seven of the team that defeated Portugal 3-1 in the World Cup third-place play-off under Klinsmann's regime and watched on as Germany raced into a two-goal lead after just eight minutes.
Bernd Schneider scored only his second international goal in the fourth minute after a clever cutback from Tim Borowksi. World Cup Golden Boot winner Miroslav Klose, who had just been presented with his German Player of the Year award before the game, then stole the limelight by taking advantage of some slack defending to bend in an eighth minute shot.
Sweden were shell-shocked - just like they were when Germany scored twice against them in the first 12 minutes of their round-of-16 World Cup match - and it got worse. Klose grabbed a second with a trademark header in the 44th minute taking his tally to 31 goals in 63 matches.
German international captain Michael Ballack will miss Germany's friendly match with Sweden on Wednesday with a hip injury, the German Football Federation (DFB) confirmed on Sunday.
Ballack injured his left hip in Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Community Shield final on Sunday and phoned Germany coach Joachim Löw afterwards to declare himself unfit for the Sweden match.
Since Christoph Metzelder and Sebastian Kehl from Borussia Dortmund are both unable to play because of knee injuries, Löw has called up defender Malik Fathi of Hertha BSC Berlin. 22-year-old Fathi has played 18 times for the Under-21 National team, but is uncapped for the Senior National team.
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.
