Hamburg defender Dennis Aogo and Bayern Munich youngster Holger Badstuber were the surprise names in Germany coach Joachim Low's provisional 27-man squad for the World Cup.
Low also named veteran Hans-Jorg Butt among the three goalkeepers who are all vying to become the new number one after Rene Adler had to pull out due to injury.
Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose, who have both had difficult seasons for their clubs, have also been included, but there was no place for Lazio midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, who was a key member of the squad which earned qualification over the last two years.
The provisional squad is: Goalkeepers: Hans-Jorg Butt, Manuel Neuer, Tim Wiese. Defenders: Per Mertesacker, Heiko Westermann, Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Andrea Beck, Arne Friedrich, Serdar Tasci, Marcell Jansen, Holger Badstuber, Dennis Aogo. Midfielders: Michael Ballack, Sami Khedira, Piotr Trochowski, Marko Marin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Christian Trasch, Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos. Forwards: Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Stefan Kiessling, Cacau, Thomas Muller, Mario Gomez.
Source: PA
