Germany Faces Cyprus
November 14, 2006
A case of the flu is going to keep Germany's starting goalkeeper Jens Lehmann from traveling to Cyprus. VfB Stuttgart keeper Timo Hildebrand, Lehmann's backup, will almost certainly start the Group D match in Nicosia while Hanover's keeper Robert Enke gets a place on the bench.
Löw will also be without injured Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski and up front it will likely be VfL Wolfburg striker Mike Hanke playing alongside Werder Bremen's Miroslav Klose.
Bayer Leverkusen's Bernd Schneider will miss the game due to thigh strain while SV Hamburg's Piotr Trochowski has had to withdraw with an Achilles problem.
"We need players that are 100 percent fit. For that reason, it would make no sense to bring Bernd or Piotr," said team manager Oliver Bierhoff on Monday before the German team departed for Cyprus.
Defender Per Mertesacker returns after being sidelined following his outstanding World Cup showing with a heel injury. He returned to action last month at his club Werder Bremen.
Frier back in national team
Leverkusen midfielder Paul Freier has been called into the squad. The 27-year-old has 18 caps for Germany, with his last appearance in February 2005.
Bierhoff said he was delighted to see Freier return to the national set up. "He knows his way around the national team and can make an impression in midfield," he said.
Germany go into the game with a perfect nine points from three qualifying games to date thanks to wins against Ireland, Slovakia and San Marino.
Cyprus has three points from three games, but are on a high after celebrating a historic 5-2 win over Ireland earlier in the qualifying campaign.
Cyprus still confident
"Although Germany are better than they have been for many years, we still think we can achieve something," said Cyprus soccer federation president Costakis Koutsokoumnis.
In the four previous encounters between the countries, Germany have won them all, scoring 24 times without conceding a goal.
If Germany win on Wednesday, they'll move ahead of the Czech Republic. The Czechs currently have 10 points but aren't playing this week. The only other group game is between Ireland and San Marino.