Germany must make full use of World Cup dry run

No one will take the Confederations Cup more seriously than Germany who need to make the most of their only competitive matches this side of the 2006 World Cup. Kevin Fylan has more...

The two-week Confederations Cup tournament is a large-scale dress rehearsal for the World Cup not only in organisational terms but also for players who have had to subsist on a diet of largely unappetising friendlies since their first-round exit at Euro 2004.

"We want the players to grow together as a team during this competition," said coach Juergen Klinsmann, whose side are automatically qualified for next year's finals as hosts.

"It's really important for us. It's our only chance to be together in a competitive situation and we have to see what we can get out of it."

Klinsmann's main goal will be to convince the German public, and his players, that a home triumph at the World Cup is a real possibility.

The former striker has won widespread praise for his work since taking over after Germany's poor showing at Euro 2004 but while the performances have been encouraging, it is hard to tell from friendly matches whether real progress is being made.

Their last friendly ended in a 2-2 draw against Russia on Wednesday.

Russia are not in the elite of sides at the moment and Germany have not beaten a top-class side in a full international match since their victory over England way back in 2000.

The Confederations Cup will give them at least one chance to bring that run to an end, with Argentina among their opponents in Group A, along with Tunisia and Australia.

They could also face Brazil, who are in Group B along with Greece, Mexico and Japan, in the semi-finals, final or the play-off for third place.

The presence of Brazil, the world champions, and Argentina, former World Cup winners, raises the value of the tournament and should ensure there are no problems of motivation for the Germans.

"This is the sort of tension we need," Klinsmann said. "It's also a chance for the boys to be together for a few more weeks, which isn't always easy to organise. It's important for the team chemistry.

"It's obvious that this tournament is something of a burden after a long season but it will be the same situation next year."

Klinsmann had hoped to use the tournament to bring Liverpool's Dietmar Hamann back into the side as a defensive midfielder but the Champions League winner had to pull out with a stress fracture in his foot.

Miroslav Klose has also been forced to withdraw through injury but that could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Klose's absence should mean more opportunities for Lukas Podolski, the gifted young striker who has been in prolific form at FC Cologne in the second division.

Podolski celebrated his 20th birthday on June 4 with his fourth goal in 10 appearances for Germany, most of them brief run-outs as a substitute. The late goal helped Germany to an encouraging 4-1 win over Northern Ireland in Belfast.

If Podolski continues in goalscoring form, and Michael Ballack and his Bayern Munich colleagues stay motivated after their double-winning exploits, Germany have every chance of giving the country a big lift with a year to go before the World Cup kicks off.

They start their Confederations Cup campaign with a Group A match against Australia in Frankfurt tomorrow before meeting Tunisia in Cologne on Saturday and Argentina in Nuremberg three days later.

Previous Confederations Cup editions

2003 - France
France got back to winning ways on the world stage with a deserved victory at the FIFA Confederations Cup.

After the disappointment of being knocked out in the first round at the 2002 World Cup, the hosts proved they were back to their sumptuous best.

France had wins over Colombia (1-0), Japan (2-1), New Zealand (5-0) and Turkey (3-2) before overcoming Cameroon in the final with a Golden Goal (1-0).

The atmosphere in the final was emotional as players walked on to the field carrying a giant image of Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe, the player who had collapsed and later died at the semi-final match against Colombia on June 26.

Participants: Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, France, Japan, New Zealand, Turkey and USA.

Top scorer: Thierry Henry (FRA) - four goals.

Spectators: 491,700.

Average attendance: 30,731.

2001 - Japan/South Korea
Despite missing Fabien Barthez and Zinedine Zidane, France could still call on Patrick Vieira, Sylvain Wiltord and Marcel Desailly... they were just too good for the opposition.

Easy wins over Korea Republic (5-0) and Mexico (4-0) were enough to see France through to the semis, before they went down to a shock 1-0 defeat to Australia in their last group game.

Their semi-final pitted them against Brazil in a re-match of the 1998 World Cup final. The game never really lived up to the pre-match hype though, Les Bleus easing through 2-1.

The final against Japan was a relatively disappointing affair as well. Patrick Vieira's goal and France's greater experience were the difference between the two sides.

Participants: Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico and Korea.

Top scorers: Shaun Murphy (AUS), Patrick Vieira (FRA), Robert Pires (FRA), Eric Carrière (FRA), Sylvain Wiltord (FRA), Takayuki Suzuki (JPN) and Sun Hong Hwang (KOR) - two goals each.

Spectators: 556,723.

Average attendance: 34,795.

1999 - Mexico
Manuel Lapuente's Mexico transformed the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup into one long national celebration. They deployed an attacking 3-4-3 formation based around Jorge Campos in goal, Claudio Suarez in defence and the lethal Cuauhtemoc Blanco-Luis Hernandez combination up front.

After topping their group by way of a 5-1 trouncing of Saudi Arabia, a 2-2 draw with Egypt and a 1-0 success over Bolivia, the Mexicans came across near-neighbours United States in the semi-finals.

The derby was a typically hard-fought encounter. The match appeared to be heading for penalties when a Golden Goal from Blanco sent the home fans wild.

And if those fans thought things could not get any better, they were wrong.

Mexico's thrilling 4-3 win in the final over Brazil remains etched in the memory of all those fortunate enough to be in the Azteca Stadium on August 4, 1999.

Participants: Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Brazil, Egypt, US, Mexico and New Zealand.

Top scorers: Ronaldinho (BRA), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (MEX), Marzouk Al Otaibi (SA) - six goals each.

Spectators: 278,000.

Average attendance: 60,625.

1997 - Saudi Arabia
Brazil and their constellation of stars burned bright under the desert sun at the 1997 Confederations Cup... the other sides simply could not stand the heat.

Mario Zagallo team's stroll through the competition began with a 3-0 win over the hosts followed by a surprising 0-0 draw with Australia and a 3-2 success over Mexico.

The semi-final against the Czech Republic was a more one-sided affair than the 2-0 scoreline would suggest, while in the final itself, the South Americans ran riot, putting six past the hapless Australians with no reply.

Participants: Australia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, UAE, Mexico, Czech Republic, South Africa and Uruguay.

Top scorer: Romario (BRA) - seven goals.

Spectators: 293,500.

Average attendance: 18,344.

1995 - Saudi Arabia
Pre-tournament favourites and European champions Denmark lived up to their top billing by winning the 1995 King Fahd Cup.

The Danes were a cut above the rest in the searing heat of Riyadh. Hosts Saudi Arabia were the first to be dispatched, 2-0 in a game where they were outclassed in every department by Richard Nielsen's side.

Mexico then gave the Scandinavians their closest game of the tournament, holding them to a 1-1 draw, before Lars Hogh's heroics in the penalty shoot-out sent the Danes through to the final.

Argentina put up little resistance in the final. A Michael Laudrup penalty and a Rasmussen strike gave Denmark a comfortable 2-0 win.

Participants: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Denmark, Japan, Mexico and Nigeria.

Top scorer: Luis Garcia (MEX) - three goals.

Spectators: 110,000.

Average attendance: 13,750.

1992 - Saudi Arabia
Argentina used this tournament as a useful dress rehearsal for the 1993 Copa America and the 1994 World Cup.

Their first encounter with Ivory Coast was over as a contest inside 10 minutes, Batistuta striking twice to ease the Argentines into the competition. Ricardo Altamirano and Alberto Acosta made it 4-0 in the second half, and the score could have been much higher had the South Americans not taken their foot off the accelerator towards the end.

The World Cup finalists of two years earlier then defeated the hosts 3-1 with goals from Rodriguez, Simeone and Caniggia to lift the trophy and extend their unbeaten run to 20 matches.

Participants: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Ivory Coast and the United States.

Top scorers: Gabriel Batistuta (ARG), Bruce Murray (USA) - two goals.

Spectators: 169,500.

Average attendance: 42,375.