Ballack And Frings Back For Germany

Sunday, 05 October 08, 09:42 AM · Comments(0)

Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings have been recalled to the Germany squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with Russia and Wales, having recovered from their respective injuries.

Germany's head coach, Joachim Low, today named a 22-man squad which did not include any real surprises, though was made noteworthy by the fact that there was again no call up for out of favour Real Madrid defender Christoph Metzelder.

Low was quick to play down claims, however, that Metzelder does not have an international future as long as he is in charge.

"We had a good chat and he still plays an important role in our plans," insisted the manager.

"But we have agreed that he should remain with Real Madrid and train hard to earn more match practice with them.

"That also makes sense because we have three good alternatives for the central defence position with Per Mertesacker, Heiko Westermann and Serdar Tasci."

Jermaine Jones, Serdar Tasci, Heiko Westermann and Patrick Helmes are some of the few new faces in the squad, while Low also commented on the competition for goalkeeping places now that Jens Lehmann is no longer an option following his international retirement.

"We expect a lot from Patrick (Helmes) in the future," said Low "He has enormous potential and has shown this emphatically for his club (Bayer Leverkusen) recently.

"Jermaine Jones has also made a name for himself recently and he is physically very strong."

He added: "This is also the last time this year that we have a bit of time together so we have the chance to look at three goalkeepers," said Low.

"The return of Adler is not a surprise and Tim Wiese has earned his chance because he has left a good impression on us."

Germany Squad:

Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen), Robert Enke (Hannover); Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart), Heiko Westermann (Schalke); Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Stuttgart), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg); Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Patrick Helmes (Cologne), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke), Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich).

Derek Wanner, Goal.com

Ballack And Frings Back For Germany

Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings have been recalled to the Germany squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with Russia and Wales, having recovered from their respective injuries.

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