Bundesliga - Loew to blood new caps

Eurosport - Mon, 17 Nov 16:05:00 2008

Germany coach Joachim Loew is set to give a trio of Bundesliga players their first international caps against England in Berlin on Wednesday.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Bundesliga Hoffenheim Compper - 0

Hoffenheim duo Marvin Compper (pictured) and Tobias Weis along with Wolfsburg's Marcel Schafer are expected to see some action with the likes of captain Michael Ballack, Philipp Lahm and Torsten Frings are all absent.

The game provides a tough test for the fringe players who will be hoping to impress enough to get a chance to prove themselves in World Cup qualifying.

"I think the best end to the year is to play a friendly in Berlin, in a big stadium and facing England is always something special," Loew said.

"A game like this against a strong opponent allows us to learn a few things.

"Qualifying is over for this year and now we are able to try a few other players.

"I think this year has been positive in that we have managed to feed some new players into the team and that is also an important aim for next year.

"(Piotr) Trochowski, (Simon) Rolfes, (Thomas) Hitzlsperger, (Mario) Gomez and (Patrick) Helmes have all forced their way into contention this year.

"We have more depth to the team and this is promoting a battle for places."

Loew admits England's fine recent form - they have not dropped a point in World Cup qualification so far - has been impressive.

He said: "England are an intact, very disciplined and, above all, very dynamic team.

"You can see in the Premier League that they are incredibly quick to turn games around and the midfielders always support the attack.

"That is a trademark of the Premier League teams like Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea.

"They put the pressure on the opponents so that you cannot get at them.

"It has impressed me, what we have seen of them, and they have won all their games since the European Championships and been convincing.

"With 14 goals scored and only two conceded, that speaks for itself and we are up against a strong England team here in Berlin."

TeamTalk / Eurosport

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