As a new season of international matches gets underway, the German national side will once again feature several well-established names. The squad for the match against Paraguay in Kaiserslautern on Wednesday (live on ZDF from 2045 CET) includes nine players from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, who both reached the UEFA Champions League final in London on 25 May and were thus unable to join the national side’s trip to the USA.
European champions Bayern have four players in the squad: captain Philipp Lahm, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as well as Jerome Boateng and Thomas Müller. Borussia Dortmund’s five representatives are Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, Ilkay Gündogan, Sven Bender and Marco Reus. National coach Joachim Löw selected a total of 21 players for his squad, including two goalkeepers.
"I'm pleased that, for the first time in five months, there are many players available from which we can build a team", said Joachim Löw. "It's important to get off to a good start this season as we hope to be world champions in Brazil by the end of it. We want to use the game against Paraguay as preparation for the World Cup qualifiers in September and October."
Fresh from new surroundings: Schürrle and Gomez
Both André Schürrle and Mario Gomez will be travelling from foreign soil to meet up with the national squad, with the pair having joined new clubs abroad. Former Leverkusen player Schürrle is travelling from London, where he has been under contract with Chelsea since the start of the summer, whilst Gomez will join the squad from Florence after his move to Fiorentina from Bayern Munich.
Löw commented: "I'm sure both players will benefit from experience abroad. It's clear that André Schürrle is in good hands with José Mourinho, when you consider the progress Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira made under his guidance at Real Madrid. I also think Mario Gomez's move is a good one; in Florence he'll get the support he needs to reach his full potential. I'm sure that he'll get on just as well in Italy as his fellow striker Miroslav Klose is."
Four more World Cup qualifiers
The match against Paraguay is Germany's first competitive fixture of the 2013/2014 season. Speaking about the game against the South Americans, Löw said: "Although the World Cup in Brazil is just ten months away, the match against Paraguay also gives us a welcome opportunity to deal with the typical South American style of play. Paraguay will be extremely motivated against us. We're looking forward to the game and believe that Kaiserslautern will be an atmospheric setting for it. Of course, we also want to give the crowd something to cheer."
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As a new season of international matches gets underway, the German national side will once again feature several well-established names. The squad for the match against Paraguay in Kaiserslautern on Wednesday (live on ZDF from 2045 CET) includes nine players from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, who both reached the UEFA Champions League final in London on 25 May and were thus unable to join the national side’s trip to the USA.
European champions Bayern have four players in the squad: captain Philipp Lahm, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as well as Jerome Boateng and Thomas Müller. Borussia Dortmund’s five representatives are Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, Ilkay Gündogan, Sven Bender and Marco Reus. National coach Joachim Löw selected a total of 21 players for his squad, including two goalkeepers.
"I'm pleased that, for the first time in five months, there are many players available from which we can build a team", said Joachim Löw. "It's important to get off to a good start this season as we hope to be world champions in Brazil by the end of it. We want to use the game against Paraguay as preparation for the World Cup qualifiers in September and October."
Fresh from new surroundings: Schürrle and Gomez
Both André Schürrle and Mario Gomez will be travelling from foreign soil to meet up with the national squad, with the pair having joined new clubs abroad. Former Leverkusen player Schürrle is travelling from London, where he has been under contract with Chelsea since the start of the summer, whilst Gomez will join the squad from Florence after his move to Fiorentina from Bayern Munich.
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Löw commented: "I'm sure both players will benefit from experience abroad. It's clear that André Schürrle is in good hands with José Mourinho, when you consider the progress Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira made under his guidance at Real Madrid. I also think Mario Gomez's move is a good one; in Florence he'll get the support he needs to reach his full potential. I'm sure that he'll get on just as well in Italy as his fellow striker Miroslav Klose is."
Four more World Cup qualifiers
The match against Paraguay is Germany's first competitive fixture of the 2013/2014 season. Speaking about the game against the South Americans, Löw said: "Although the World Cup in Brazil is just ten months away, the match against Paraguay also gives us a welcome opportunity to deal with the typical South American style of play. Paraguay will be extremely motivated against us. We're looking forward to the game and believe that Kaiserslautern will be an atmospheric setting for it. Of course, we also want to give the crowd something to cheer."
Germany still have four FIFA World Cup qualifiers to play before next summer's tournament in Brazil. The schedule begins with a match against Austria in Munich on 6 September, followed by a visit to the Faroe Islands on 10 September, before qualification draws to a close with games against Republic of Ireland (11 October in Cologne) and Sweden (15 October in Stockholm). The DFB has two friendlies lined up for November, should Germany seal direct qualification for the World Cup.
