Decision due for Low

Germany coach Joachim Low will announce his World Cup captain and goalkeeper on Friday. Philipp Lahm is favourite to be given the captain's armband made available due to an injury to Michael Ballack, while Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is tipped to be named the new number one after Rene Adler was also ruled out of the tournament. But Lahm's Bayern Munich team-mate Thomas Muller insists the choice of captain is not such a big issue, and said: "With Michael missing out the responsibility will have to be shared across many shoulders. But we are a great squad and are very close-knit." He added: "Whoever actually wears the armband on the field or has a bit more contact with the coach is not really relevant." Muller is viewed in some quarters as one of the players who may be discarded by Low when he names his final 23-man squad next week. However, his versatility in attack and midfield should see him included at the age of 20, and he would be happy to play anywhere. "Whether it's on the right or the left of the midfield, or even up front, doesn't matter to me," he said at a press conference at the squad's training camp in Sudtirol. "Generally, I play wherever the coach puts me. I think I have played well in every position this season." With Christian Trasch picking up an injury earlier this week which rules him out of contention, Low must only trim his squad by two players. He said earlier this week that he had "not even one name" in mind and will probably use this weekend's friendly against Hungary as the main test to determine who will remain in Germany when the team fly out to South Africa on June 6.

Source: PA