LATEST NEWS - 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA™
Low: First team football essential
Germany coach Joachim Low has warned candidates for his FIFA World Cup™ squad they will have to be playing regular first team football if they are to be considered next summer.
Speaking to the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Low explained how he had learnt from the mistake he made at UEFA EURO 2008 in nominating Real Madrid defender Christoph Metzelder despite the fact he had spent much of the latter stages of the season injured.
"I won't call up anybody who has not been playing regularly for their side in the months building up to the tournament," he said. "That is something I have learned from EURO 2008. This is going to be a World Cup which will be played at a very high pace."
However, fringe players may still be given the chance to sneak into the squad at the last minute as Low expects to use every single hour available to him before submitting his 23-man squad on 5 June. The Germany squad will get together in mid-May and spend over a fortnight in a training camp in Italy before flying out to South Africa on 6 June.
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