While U.S. Manager Bruce Arena called 19 players for the USA’s March 22 match vs. Germany, his counterpart, German coach Juergen Klinsmann, has set his roster at 23 for the World Cup tune-up. The rematch of the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal kicks off at 8:25 p.m. local time / 2:25 p.m. ET (live on ESPN2) from the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, one of twelve venues for this summer’s tournament. Fans can also follow along live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.
Among the more notable names at Klinsmann’s disposal is goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, whose thigh injury kept him out of Germany’s March 1 loss to Italy. The Bayern Munich backstop is among five memebers of Germany’s most famous club called in for the contest, joining defender Philipp Lahm and midfielders Michael Ballack, Sebastian Deisler and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Germany holds a 5-2-0 lifetime advantage vs. the U.S., including a March 27, 2002 match in Rostock in the USA’s penultimate match prior to selecting their World Cup roster.
The three-time FIFA World Cup champions have qualified successfully for every World Cup finals they have entered and Germany’s 16 overall appearances rank second only to Brazil (18).
GERMAN NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER vs. UNITED STATES
Goalkeepers: Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich/Germany), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal/England), Timo Hildebrand (VfB Stuttgart/Germany).
Defenders: Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin/Germany), Robert Huth (Chelsea/England), Marcell Jansen (Bor. M'gladbach/Germany), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich/Germany), Per Mertesacker (Hannover 96/Germany), Patrick Owomoyela (Werder Bremen/Germany), Christoph Metzelder (Borussia Dortmund/Germany), Manuel Friedrich (Mainz/Germany).
Midfielders: Sebastian Kehl (Borussia Dortmund/Germany), Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich/Germany), Sebastian Deisler (Bayern Munich/Germany), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich/Germany), Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen/Germany), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen/Germany), Fabian Ernst (Schalke 04/Germany), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen/Germany).
Forwards: Gerald Asamoah (Schalke 04/Germany), Mike Hanke (Wolfsburg/Germany), Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen/Germany), Lukas Podolski (Cologne/Germany).
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