Football United

Germany coach Rudi Völler has named 22 of his 23 players for UEFA EURO 2004™ - leaving one squad place to be filled by an Under-21 international.

Leading contenders
The leading contenders for the final berth appear to be 18-year-old 1. FC Köln forward Lukas Podolski and FC Bayern München's 19-year-old midfield player Bastian Schweinsteiger. Völler will announce his decision on 2 June at the conclusion of the group stage of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Neuville left out
Völler has also left forward Oliver Neuville out of his squad. The 31-year-old, who today left Bayer 04 Leverkusen for VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach on a free transfer, found it hard to hold down a first-team place this season. He loses out to Hannover 96 striker Thomas Brdaric, whose 12 goals helped save his club from relegation.

Preparations begin
Germany will start their preparations for Portugal on Tuesday, when they meet in Winden in the Black Forest. Their opening game of the tournament is against Group D rivals the Netherlands in Porto on 15 June.

Germany squad

Goalkeepers
Oliver Kahn (FC Bayern München)
Jens Lehmann (Arsenal FC)
Timo Hildebrand (VfB Stuttgart)

Defenders
Frank Baumann (SV Werder Bremen)
Arne Friedrich (Hertha BSC Berlin)
Andreas Hinkel (VfB Stuttgart)
Philipp Lahm (VfB Stuttgart)
Jens Nowotny (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Christian Rahn (Hamburger SV)
Christian Wörns (BV Borussia Dortmund)

Midfielders
Michael Ballack (FC Bayern München)
Fabian Ernst (SV Werder Bremen)
Paul Freier (VfL Bochum 1848)
Torsten Frings (BV Borussia Dortmund)
Dietmar Hamann (Liverpool FC)
Jens Jeremies (FC Bayern München)
Sebastian Kehl (BV Borussia Dortmund)
Bernd Schneider (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)

Forwards
Fredi Bobic (Hertha BSC Berlin)
Thomas Brdaric (Hannover 96)
Miroslav Klose (1. FC Kaiserslautern)
Kevin Kuranyi (VfB Stuttgart)

Source: uefa.com