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Löw faces ‘brutal’ choices

Germany coach Joachim Löw admits he faces some 'brutal' decisions in the next few days as he looks to cut two players for his World Cup squad in the wake of his side's 3-0 friendly win over Hungary.

Löw faces 'brutal' choices
Photo: DPA

Germany warmed up for South Africa with a convincing win over the hosts at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium on Saturday with a Lukas Podolski penalty and second-half goals by substitutes Mario Gomez and Brazilian-born Cacau.

Löw will sit down with his coaching team to decide which two players will not be travelling to South Africa with the final 23-man squad set to be announced on Tuesday. “There will be lots of speculation in the next few days,” said Löw.

“The coaches will sit down together on Sunday and Monday with the coaching staff and announce the squad on Tuesday.

“Of course, it will hurt for the players concerned, but unfortunately we can only take 23.” Midfielder Marko Marin, Cacau and striker Gomez all impressed, while

Hamburg midfielder Marcell Jansen made his first appearance since suffering an

ankle injury in January.

Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber came off the bench to make his debut, in the second-half, but Löw knows two of his players will soon be suffering World Cup heartbreak without even boarding the plane to South Africa.

“I haven’t yet got the two players in my head who won’t be going,” he admitted. “The decision will be brutal, not only for the players, but also for the coaches.”

Germany begin their World Cup campaign in Group D on June 13 against Australia and fly to South Africa on June 7 after their final warm-up game against Bosnia-Herzegovina next Thursday.

With Germany captain Michael Ballack injured and out of next month’s World Cup, Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose took over the skipper’s armband. Having played in last weekend’s Champions League final defeat, Bayern Munich stars Bastian Schweinsteiger and Germany’s new World Cup captain Philipp Lahm were both rested.

Ballack’s replacement alongside Schweinsteiger in the first-choice line-up is likely to be Stuttgart’s Sami Khedira and although he limped off in the second-off, the 22-year-old said there was no problem.

“In the first half, we played well and created a lot of chances,” said Khedira. “I myself have felt some pain, but I walked off at half-time.”

Germany were rarely troubled by the Hungarians and are sure to face much tougher tests in Group D against Ghana, Australia and Serbia in South Africa.

“The Hungarians didn’t have many chances,” said goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. “But on the other hand, it was good that we crated a few goals of our own.”

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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