Squad set

Andreas Beck, a right back who plays club soccer at TSG Hoffenheim was the player Germany coach Joachim Loew cut from his squad in order to get down to FIFA's 23-man limit.

Loew left it late to make the decision. FIFA's deadline was midnight on Tuesday, and the announcement came shortly after 8pm.

Beck, along with Hamburg's versatile left-sided player Marcell Jansen, winger Piotr Trochowski and striker Stefan Kiessling were the players rumored to be fighting for their places in the squad.

Odd man out

In a statement to the press made after informing Beck of his decision, Joachim Loew said "it was not an easy decision to make. Over the last three weeks Andreas worked very hard and trained well. But he is coming off an uneven season, one in which he was injured a few times."

Having excelled for Hoffenheim in its first season in the top-flight, full-back Andreas Beck was part of the Germany team which won the European Under-21 Championships in 2009.

But in the just-concluded Bundesliga season, things had had gone less smoothly for the son of German exile parents born in Russia's far east. Hoffenheim fell into a funk, finishing 11th - and while Beck was one of the team's few bright spots, his form could not help but suffer.

Beck's chances were also hurt by the fact that he plays only one position - right back.

Future prospects

Loew said he had tried to assure the 23-year-old Beck that he would get his chance to play for Germany in the future, and that he should still consider himself "part of the team."

He also said that should another defender go down injured in the lead-up to the tournament, Beck would be the first player he called in.

"But I hope we don't have any more injuries," added Loew.

Since naming his 27-man preliminary roster, Loew has seen three players - midfielders Michael Ballack and Christian Traesch, and all-purpose defender Heiko Westermann - go down injured and leave the squad.

In the run-up to the tournament, goalkeeper Rene Adler and midfielder Simon Rolfes, both potential starters, also pulled out with injuries.

Full Germany squad:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen), Joerg Butt (Bayern Munich)

Defenders: Dennis Aogo, Jerome Boateng, Marcell Jansen (all Hamburg SV), Holger Badstuber, Philipp Lahm (both Bayern Munich), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart)

Midfielders: Marko Marin, Mesut Oezil (both Werder Bremen), Sami Khedira (Stuttgart), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)

Attackers: Mario Gomez, Miroslav Klose, Thomas Mueller (all Bayern Munich), Cacau (Stuttgart), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Lukas Podolski (Cologne)

Author: Tom Sheldrick
Editor: Matt Hermann