Guendogan picked for Brazil game; Oezil, Khedira not

Aug 4, 2011, 11:12 GMT

Frankfurt - Ilkay Guendogan got a first Germany call-up on Thursday for next week's friendly against Brazil, while Mesut Oezil and Sami Khedira will continue pre-season training at Real Madrid and not play.

Germany coach Joachim Loew nominated 22 players for the August 10 game in Stuttgart between the teams who share eight World Cup titles.

The 20-year-old midfielder Guendogan, now with Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund after a strong season in Nuremberg, is the latest newcomer in Loew's team at the start of a season culminating in the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

'Ilkay has developed well and performed well in pre-season games. He is technically skilled and intelligent. This is a good opportunity to get to know him at the start of the European championship season,' said Loew.

Guendogan, who like Oezil is of Turkish descent, said: 'I am delighted that the coach has faith in me. The nomination is a dream come true. I made up my mind long ago that I want to play for the German (and not the Turkish) team.'

Also uncapped is Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus, who missed previous nominations for injury reasons.

VfB Stuttgart forward Cacau was picked for the first time since November 2010, while Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jerome Boateng return from injury absences in June Euro qualifiers along with Sven Bender from Dortmund and Lazio's Miroslav Klose.

Loew decided not to pick the playmaker Oezil and Khedira because they only return from a Madrid team trip to China and the United States on Sunday. Also absent is Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker, who has only just returned from injury.

The three are expected to return in Germany's next games, a Euro 2012 qualifier against Austria on September 2 and a friendly in Poland four days later. Germany top their qualifying group with a maximum 21 points for a 10-point lead.

How much information Loew will get out of the Brazil game remains open as it comes right at the start of the season, with the Bundesliga having played just one round.

But Loew said: 'Brazil is one of the most successful teams in the world. The meeting with Brazil will be an interesting test for us.'

Brazil have won 12 of the 20 games with Germany, including the 2002 World Cup final. Five games ended in draws and Germany won three, the latest 1993 in Cologne.

Germany squad Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen) Defenders: Dennis Aogo (SV Hamburg), Holger Bdstuber, Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm (all Bayern Munich), Benedikt Hoewedes (Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Christian Traesch (Wolfsburg) Midfielders: Sven Bender, Mario Goetze, Ilkay Guendogan (all Borussia Dortmund), Cacau (VfB Stuttgart), Toni Kroos, Thomas Mueller, Bastian Schweinsteiger (all Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Marco Reus (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Simon Rolfes, Andre Schuerrle (both Bayer Leverkusen) Forwards: Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Lazio)

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