By Barry Whelan Jul 7, 2006, 12:01 GMT
Berlin - Coach Juergen Klinsmann will be forced to reshuffle his side for the third-place match against Portugal after several players including captain Michael Ballack pulled out injured Friday.
Ballack has suffered an inflamed tendon in the hollow of his left knee and won't play, Klinsmann confirmed.
There were also injury doubts surrounding midfielder Tim Borowski who pulled out of training Friday with an inflammation in his right foot and is now thought unlikely to recover in time.
Defenders Per Mertesacker and Arne Friedrich had already been ruled out with injuries. Mertesacker has left the squad for surgery on an injured heel and Friedrich has a knee injury.
Oliver Kahn will play in goal for the first time in the tournament, replacing Jens Lehmann, Klinsmann meanwhile confirmed.
'We have a lot to thank him for what we achieved here. The role he has played in the side has been fantastic and he deserves this chance,' said Klinsmann.
The coach said Lehmann, who had gladly agreed to step aside for Kahn, had been 'world class' and was 'the goalkeeper of the World Cup'.
Robert Huth will replace Mertesacker in central defence and 20-year-old Marcell Jansen will make his World Cup debut at left-back, Klinsmann said.
The coach does not have a ready replacement for Friedrich's right-back position, although Philipp Lahm could switch to the right, while midfielder Bernd Schneider is also capable of filling the role.
Midfielder Torsten Frings, suspended and sorely missed in the semi-final defeat against Italy, is eligible to play again, and there are other alternatives in midfield where Gerald Asamoah and Sebastian Kehl are waiting in the wings.
'We wanted to stay in Berlin and play the final but now we are playing the 'small final' in Stuttgart. We will make every effort to win this game,' Klinsmann said.
'A game for third place at a World Cup is something and we have told the team to mobilize its energy to give a good performance for the public and return to Berlin in the best of spirits. We will be giving everything.'
Striker Miroslav Klose, who has complained of a calf strain, is nevertheless expected to play and will go into the game on five World Cup goals and every chance of finishing as the tournament's leading goalscorer.
Only his team-mate Lukas Podolski, named Friday as young player of the tournament, and French striker Thierry Henry - both on three goals - can realistically catch him.
However Klinsmann may want to rest Podolski and give Oliver Neuville, who has done well as a substitute, a chance from the start.
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said his team would rouse themselves after Wednesday's semi-final defeat to France and try to play a good game.
'It will be an encounter between two sides with coaches and players who respect each other,' he said.
Scolari, who won the World Cup four years ago with Brazil, added: 'We have to get rid of this melancholy, we still have a target. Third place at the World Cup is not to be sniffed at. We'll go on to the field with the same dedication we've shown so far.
Portugal will also have a changed line-up, with defender Ricardo Carvalho suspended after picking up a second yellow card against France.
Germany have a 6-3 win record against Portugal in 14 encounters but the two sides have never played at a World Cup.
The last meeting was at the 2000 European Championships in Rotterdam when Germany suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat with Sergio Conceicao scoring all three goals. The defeat led to the resignation of then coach Erich Ribbeck.
Line-ups
Germany (probable): Kahn - Lahm, Metzelder, Huth, Jansen - Asamoah, Frings, Kehl, Schneider - Klose, Neuville.
Portugal (probable): Ricardo - Ferreira, Meira, Caneira, Nuno Valenta - Costinha, Maniche - Figo, Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo - Pauleta.
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