Friday Jul 07 2006 16:01
Hosts Germany will hope to end their World Cup campaign on a high when they take on Portugal in the third-place play-off in Stuttgart's Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion.
Germany suffered the bitter disappointment of an extra-time defeat by Italy in the semi-finals, but striker Miroslav Klose still has plenty to play for.
He is the leading scorer in the tournament with five goals and wants to make sure of winning the Golden Shoe, although he faces a race to be fit due to a calf injury.
Klose said: "It would be great to be top scorer because then at least one title would remain in Germany.
"But everyone knows I am a team player and I am thinking only of the game.
"I still have some pain so we'll see if I'll be able to play. We all wish we were in the final, but we all want to win against Portugal."
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann will definitely be without injured defensive trio Per Mertesacker, Philipp Lahm and Arne Friedrich, while Oliver Kahn is set to start in goal in place of Jens Lehmann.
Captain Michael Ballack will also sit out the game due to a knee problem.
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari also says his side still have plenty to play for, commenting: "I would rather have been playing in the final.
"But even if we have to recognise that we are only playing in a play-off match for third and fourth place, we must be proud to have come so far.
"We will try to play a good game. We want to finish third."
Scolari has right-back Miguel ruled out by a knee injury, with Chelsea's Paulo Ferreira likely to deputise for the Valencia defender.
Veteran skipper Luis Figo is set to play in his 127th and final game for his country, with Scolari unlikely to tinker much with the line-up that started in the 1-0 defeat by France.
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