German National Team: Joachim Low Names Four New Faces for Chile Friendly

Ahead of their friendly with Chile on Wednesday, coach Joachim Low has named four players to die Nationalmannschaft for the first time. Two of them made an impression on the under-21 team. In total, Low named 21 players for the match in Stuttgart and mentioned getting to know the youngsters. While he may have called in some new faces, this roster is still about many of the veterans that make Germany a World Cup favorite.

Shkodran Mustafi of Sampdoria and Matthias Ginter of Freiburg impressed in their U21 roles and will get their first call into camp. The two defenders will have a chance to learn from veterans like Per Mertesacker and Jerome Boateng. Ginter is the youngest player in the camp having just turned 20 in January.

Meanwhile André Hahn of Augsburg gets his first call up in the midfield. Hahn will have a chance to interact with long time German National Team midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger who returns to the team for the first time since October. The depth in the midfield is remarkable as the only other player with less than 17 appearances for Germany is Sidney Sam.

The other newcomer will get a chance to see a man that has scored 68 goals for Germany, Miroslav Klose, up close. Pierre-Michel Lasogga from Hamburg is the only other pure striker on the roster, so he could see time in his first camp with the national team. However, Germany has toyed with a false nine lineup to capitalize on the ability of Mario Götze, Mesut Özil and Toni Kroos.

Chile will also be in Brazil for the World Cup and is the first of four friendly matches scheduled for the German National Team prior to their opening match against Portugal on June 16. Just like many across the world, it is now time to fine tune the squad for Brazil and Low will be counting on his veterans to set the tone.

Check back next week for a projected roster for the German National Team as we continue to cover everything leading up to the World Cup.

Douglas Smith is a soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DFresh39, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.