Klinsmann finds a place for Freier

By Andreas Alf

The Germany coach Jürgen Klismann has recalled midfield player Paul Freier for the first time since he sustained a knee injury which kept him out of UEFA EURO 2004™.

Good form
The 25-year-old looked to have forced his way into contention for Portugal last summer before damaging knee ligaments in a late May friendly against Malta. However, continued good form for Bayer 04 Leverkusen has earned Freier a place in the squad to face Argentina in Dusseldorf next Wednesday.

Injured Huth
Missing for Germany is the Chelsea FC central defender Robert Huth after he injured knee ligaments on FA Cup duty last weekend. The 20-year-old will be out for up to two months. Philipp Lahm of VfB Stuttgart is also unavailable as he recovers from a fractured foot while Sebastian Deisler chose to concentrate on getting back into the FC Bayern München team.

Hitzlsperger in
The Aston Villa FC midfield player Thomas Hitzlsperger is in Klinsmann's squad of 20 players despite not being selected for the three-match tour of Asia in December. Germany will host the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.

Germany squad
Kahn (FC Bayern München), Lehmann (Arsenal FC), Fahrenhorst (Werder Bremen), Schulz (Werder Bremen), Friedrich (Hertha BSC Berlin), Hinkel (VfB Stuttgart), Mertesacker (Hannover 96), Owomoyela (DSC Arminia Bielefeld), Wörns (BV Borussia Dortmund), Ballack (FC Bayern München), Frings (FC Bayern München), Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern München), Freier (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Schneider (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Ernst (Werder Bremen), Hitzlsperger (Aston Villa FC), Asamoah (FC Schalke 04), Klose (Werder Bremen), Kuranyi (VfB Stuttgart), Podolski (1. FC Köln).