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Among the twenty players invited to the German national team selection matches for the 2008 European Championship, which the Germans will play against the Czechs on March 24, there are four debutants.
For the first time, the "Bayer" players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kiessling, as well as the "Stuttgart" defender Roberto Hilbert, are invited to the German national team. The third German national team goalkeeper Robert Enke has been called up before, but has not yet played in any matches for the national team.
The German national team will travel to the Czech Republic with significant absences. Miroslav Klose and Clemens Fritz will miss the match in Prague due to disqualification. Six players will also be unable to play due to injuries: Mario Gomez, Gerald Asamoah, Oliver Neuville, Tim Borowski, Mike Hanke, and Arne Friedrich.
The German and Czech national teams have each collected ten points in Group D and have played four matches, but the Germans have a better ratio of goals scored and goals conceded.
Preliminary roster of the German national team:
Goalkeepers: Robert Enke (Hannover 96), Timo Hildebrand (Stuttgart), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal)
Defenders: Gonzalo Castro (Bayer), Manuel Friedrich (Mainz), Per Mertesacker (Werder), Marcel Jansen (Gladbach), Philipp Lahm (Bayern), Christoph Metzelder (Dortmund)
Midfielders: Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Torsten Frings (Werder), Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Stuttgart), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern), Bernd Schneider (Bayer), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger)
Forwards: Stefan Kiessling (Bayer), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke), Lukas Podolski (Bayern), Jan Schlaudraff (Aachen)
