Hinkel targeting WC squad spot

Full-back Hinkel, who has 19 caps, has found himself a bit-part player for his country since Joachim Low became manager after the 2006 tournament. Hinkel, 27, has missed Celtic's last three matches but has declared himself fit after a thigh injury and is now desperate for boss Tony Mowbray to throw him into Thursday's Group C game against the team from his homeland. With the Scottish Premier League not shown in Germany, Hinkel knows the double-header against Hamburg could be his big chance to shine ahead of next summer's World Cup finals in South Africa. The former Sevilla and Stuttgart player is also looking forward to tackling a German club for the first time since he left his homeland three years ago. "This will be the first time since I left Germany that I will play against a German team so it's special for me," Hinkel told Celtic's matchday programme. "And it's a good opportunity for the German people to see me because the SPL is not televised in Germany. "And, of course, it's important to me because the German national coach will see the game so I'm looking forward to it." Hamburg bounced back from a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Rapid Vienna in Austria in their Europa League opener by beating Hapoel Tel Aviv to lie second in Group C, two points clear of rock-bottom Celtic. And despite missing some of their star men through injury, Bruno Labbadia's side will arrive at Parkhead full of confidence, having stayed joint top of the Bundesliga on Saturday. Hinkel said: "At the moment, Hamburg have a few injuries to key players but they still have a good team. "Their striker Jose Guerrero has a knee injury and will be out for six months, while Mladen Petric, who has scored a lot of goals in the first few games, looks like he'll miss the game on Thursday. "But they are a very good side, full of confidence and are top of the German League."

Source: Team_Talk