Germany boss Loew considering Kuranyi reprieve

Germany coach Joachim Loew admitted Thursday he is considering ending Kevin Kuranyi’s exile from the national side and taking the striker to the World Cup.

Kuranyi, 28, turned his back on the Germany team in October 2008 out of frustration at being omitted from the matchday squad and although he later apologised, Loew later vowed never to select him again.

But with first-choice strikers Miroslav Klose of Bayern Munich and Cologne’s Lukas Podolski both struggling for form, Kuranyi’s 18 goals for Schalke 04 so far this season have put Loew under pressure to reconsider his opinion.

“I am aware of my responsibility as the coach of the national team, but we cannot be influenced by the public pressure,” said Loew on the German Football Federation (DFB) website.

“We will watch the next few games closely and we will make an announcement at the end of the month.”

Loew will announce his World Cup squad on May 6 and having repeatedly insisted Kuranyi’s international career is finished as far as he is concerned, this is the first time he has hinted at a reprieve.

Kuranyi is just one goal behind the Bundesliga’s top scorer Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg before this weekend’s games, but the Schalke striker won the last of his 52 caps back in September 2008.

Having been left out of the World Cup qualifier against Russia that October, Kuranyi stormed out of the stadium at halftime and Loew later announced he would never select the Schalke star again, which he has often repeated.

But with Kuranyi scoring six goals in his last six league games, the pressure on Loew to reconsider his decision is growing.