Germany

The Germans open their campaign against Australia in Durban on Sunday before going on to face Ghana and Serbia in their other Group D matches  (Germany 2/9 to qualify from Group D).

“We want to be able to embarrass opponents with our playing skills,” said Loew.

“We couldn’t have done any more up to this point. That’s why my conscience is clear and I have a really good feeling about the tournament.”

Loew, who took over from Jurgen Klinsman after Germany’s unsuccessful 2006 campaign, led Die Mannschaft to the final of Euro 2008 and Loew will be looking to carry on their success by winning  their fourth tournament after coming out on top in 1954, 1974 and 1990.

Germany go into the tournament on the back of a string of 3-0 victories against Malta, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Loew is confident his side can carry this form into the tournament.

“The team has been enthusiastic and ready to learn,” he added. “Now we are just correcting small errors. We are going into the tournament well prepared.”

Amongst the players Loew is placing his trust in is striker Miroslav Klose (33/1 for top goalscorer) who needs six goals in the tournament to become the highest scorer in the history of the World Cup. Klose was only a bit-part player in Bayern Munich’s double winning season which saw them win the German League and Cup as well as losing in the final of the Champions League.

However, he has remained a stalwart of the German side throughout qualifying and Loew believes the big striker is rediscovering the form that saw him win the Golden Boot in 2006.

“He (Klose) told me that he felt a lot better,” said Loew. “He was very agile, quick in his actions in training.

“He’s slowly getting his form back, and he’s getting fresher physically as well. Miro can still be very important to us.”

Klose is expected to start up-front on his own for the Germans against the Socceroos with support coming from young playmaker Memut Ozil. Ozil is one of a number of youngsters in line for their World Cup debuts, with midfilders Thomas Muller and Sam Khedira hoping for a start as well as new Manchester City signing Jerome Boateng who is looking to partner Per Mertesacker in the heart of the German defence.

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Loew has recovered from the blow of losing Ballack for the tournament and believes that Khedira is the perfect choice to partner Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger in the heart of Germany’s midfield.

“It can be assumed that Khedira is the number-one candidate for this position,” Loew told Bild.

“He has a great deal of potential and is a player who has already been given a lot of responsibility at Stuttgart.

“He also shows that he has matured.”

Khedira is a former Under-21 captain and Loew believes he can slot into the team without the Germans having to alter their formation.

“I expect other players to take over accordingly,” Loew explained. “You have got to demand that.

“Bastian Schweinsteiger will have even more responsibility, for example, and also Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose and Per Mertesacker have got to exceed themselves.

“It is often the case that others step forward when a leading player drops out and this could also be the chance for other players.

“We need a reaction like that ahead of the World Cup.”

Loew has yet to answer the question as to who will take Ballack’s armband, although he has been thinking about that.

“Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger are obviously candidates, but so too is Miro Klose – he has played the most international games,” revealed Loew.

Whoever leads the team onto the field will be doing so with the usual expectations of a nation which has won the title three times.

However, Loew is not eyeing the cup this time, especially with Ballack ruled out.

“That is why we are not talking about the World Cup title,” he said.

“We have set ourselves the goal of playing a good World Cup and there is no point in building up the pressure by setting targets.

“Our first stage will be the group phase, which is going to be hard enough.”

Germany kick-off their campaign against Australia (8/15 Germany 11/4 draw 5/1 Australia – match betting) and also face Serbia and Ghana in the group.

One crucial decision Loew has yet to make is who will replace Rene Adler in goal – the German coach looks set to wait until the end of the second training camp before revealing his choice.

However, the players have already been given training equipment with a dedicated squad number and Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has been confirmed as the number one.

Werder Bremen’s Tim Wiese has the number 12 and Bayern’s Hans-Jorg Butt is number 23.

However, Germany manager Oliver Bierhoff said: “The numbers don’t give any indication at all about any ranking list.”

Three players must still be trimmed from Low’s current 26-man squad before Germany jet out to South Africa on 6 June.

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