Germany head coach Joachim Loew will be assessing his options ahead of June’s World Cup with four uncapped players in the squad for Wednesday’s friendly against Chile.
The Stuttgart friendly is Loew’s last chance to test new combinations before naming his squad for Brazil 2014 on May 8, with Germany set to kick-off their World Cup campaign against Portugal in Salvador on June 16.
With 100 days to go before the World Cup, Loew has voiced concerns with several first-choice players returning from injury and he said his final squad will be based solely on current form.
“On paper, we have a top team, but the reality is a bit different at the moment,” said Loew, whose side won nine and drew one of their 10 qualifiers.
“Several players have been injured for months, while others have struggled with a lack of rhythm or form.
“With a view to the World Cup, we won’t make any compromises. We have to get everything in line to be successful.
“We have the chance to work on solutions and alternatives to various problems.
“So we have decided to look at a few new faces who have been consistently good for their clubs.”
Loew has called up the uncapped quartet of Sampdoria centre-back Shkodran Mustafi, Augsburg midfielder Andre Hahn, Freiburg centre-back Matthias Ginter and Hamburg striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga.
Centre-back is the key position where Loew needs depth with first-choice Mats Hummels only just returning from injury and set to partner Bayern’s Jerome Boateng.
Likewise, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has only just returned after ankle surgery, then a knee injury.
With Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup after a knee injury, Loew will switch captain Philipp Lahm to partner Schweinsteiger in the defensive midfield against Chile.
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender has dropped out with a dead leg and Loew hopes veteran striker Miroslav Klose will start.
The 35 year old is set to become Germany’s all-time top-scorer having equalled Gerd Mueller’s record of 68 goals in the white shirt, but he sat out Lazio’s 1-0 Serie A win against Fiorentina on Sunday with a strained abdominal muscle.
Chile will certainly have taken heart from Paraguay’s 3-3 draw with Germany last August when the South Americans took an early 2-0 lead after hitting the hosts on the counter-attack before the Germans fought back.
Jorge Sampaoli’s Chile have been drawn in Group B along with Australia, Spain and the Netherlands at the World Cup.
Midfielder Arturo Vidal, who used to play in the Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen, has said the South Americans are coming to Stuttgart to shock the hosts.
Having qualified third in the South American qualifying group behind Argentina and Colombia, Chile demand respect.
“This is our last test match before the World Cup and we are coming to win it,” the 26-year-old Juventus midfielder told Sport Bild.
“We attack early, we like to play and we run a lot.
“We play a bit like Borussia Dortmund did last season in the Champions League.
“We have a tough group at the World Cup, but we can be a big surprise and we have never had a bigger chance.”
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RESULT
Kolkata Knight Riders 169-7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals 144-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata win by 25 runs
Next match
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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