International friendly preview: Germany v Australia

Germany will be missing several first-team players when they meet Australia in a rematch of their 2010 World Cup group-stage clash.

Australia gifted Germany the perfect start to their tournament in South Africa last year, going down 4-0 in their Group D opener.The Socceroos never recovered from the blow and bowed out at the first hurdle.Germany went on to defeat England and Argentina, only coming unstuck in a narrow semi-final defeat to eventual champions Spain. But Germany coach Joachim Loew will be without several of his stars from that tournament for Tuesday’s friendly at the Borussia-Park.Captain Philipp Lahm of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid midfield duo Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil will all be rested in Monchengladbach.Jerome Boateng was expected to replace Lahm at fullback, but the Manchester City man has been ruled out after suffering a knee injury in the warm-up to Germany’s 4-0 victory over Kazakhstan on Saturday.The injury to Boateng means Marcel Schmelzer receives his first start, while Dortmund defender Mats Hummels and Stuttgart’s Christian Trasch both come in.There will also be a debut for young Mainz forward Andre Schuerrle.Bastian Schweinsteiger will captain the team in the absence of club teammate Lahm. There are some local connections for Australia, with their German coach Holger Osieck selecting Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Mitch Langerak in the squad for the first time. Robbie Kruse, a new recruit for 2nd Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf, could also be involved. But Australia will be without one of their star men in the form of Tim Cahill, who has been ruled out of the match with a foot injury.