Germany-Argentina friendly slated for March 3

Germany and Argentina will prepare their bids for the 2010 World Cup with a friendly match on March 3 in Munich, the German Football Federation announced on Friday.

The match will be the Germans’ third friendly ahead of the tournament, coming after their fixtures against Chile on November 14 in Cologne and the Ivory Coast on November 18 in Gelsenkirchen.

Germany coach Joachim Loew had specifically requested to play Argentina, world champions in 1978 and 1986, as part of their preparations.

“I’m really delighted that Argentina have accepted,” said Loew.

“Even though they had some problems during qualifying in the LatAm zone they are still among the top teams in the world.”

Diego Maradona’s side grabbed the final South American qualifying berth for the South Africa tournament with a last-gasp 1-0 win over Uruguay earlier this month.

Three-time world champions Germany qualified from European Group Four with a four-point lead over their only serious rivals Russia, who will go into a play-off with Slovenia on November 14 and 18.

“We have to give everything we have against them. This match in Munich will be a real test before the announcement of the World Cup team,” said Loew.

The two countries have already slated another friendly for August 15, 2012 in Germany, the federation added.

The last time they met was in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup in Berlin, with Germany winning a penalty shootout 5-3.