Frankfurt: Coach Joachim Loew has left Bastian Schweinsteiger out of Germany's squad for their friendly against Paraguay in Kaiserslautern and decided against any new call-ups.
Schweinsteiger and Bayern Munich team-mate Mario Goetze need time to get back to full fitness, Loew said on Thursday. Another Bayern player, Toni Kroos, was left out of next Wednesday's game to be with his pregnant wife.
Bayern still have four players in the squad - captain Philipp Lahm, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Mueller. Rival Borussia Dortmund have five: Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, Ilkay Gundogan, Sven Bender and Marco Reus.
Loew included Fiorentina striker Mario Gomez, who moved to the Italian side from Bayern in the off-season, and new Chelsea signing Andre Schuerrle. "I'm sure both players will gain from their experiences abroad," Loew said. "You can see that Schuerrle is in good hands with Jose Mourinho from the progress Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira made under him."
Loew said that the match will provide a "welcome opportunity to get used to the South American style of play."
Germany have World Cup qualifiers against Austria and the Faroe Islands in September, and then against Ireland and Sweden in October. Loew's side tops Group C and is well-placed to qualify for next year's tournament in Brazil.
"We're on the plane landing in Brazil, we can see the Sugar Loaf mountain [in Rio de Janeiro] already. We want to get through qualification unbeaten," Loew said.
Germany Squad:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Rene Adler (Hamburger SV).
Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Benedikt Hoewedes (Schalke), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund), Marcell Jansen (Hamburger SV), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal).
Midfielders: Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund), Ilkay Gundogan (Borussia Dortmund), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Julian Draxler (Schalke), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal), Andre Schuerrle (Chelsea).
Forwards: Mario Gomez (Fiorentina), Miroslav Klose (Lazio).
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