LONDON: Germany and Argentina clash again 52 days after contesting the World Cup final, albeit with less at stake when the sides meet for a friendly in Duesseldorf.

It may seem incongruous to celebrate winning the World Cup with the defeated side in attendance, but Wednesday’s game was organised last March, well before Mario Goetze scored in injury time on July 13 to give Germany its fourth title with a 1-0 win.

Some 40,000 fans turned up to celebrate Joachim Loew’s side during Monday’s open training session and Argentina will be keen to dampen their mood, particularly after German players poked fun at the beaten finalists on their return from Brazil with their “Gaucho dance” in Berlin.

Brazil, Colombia clash adds spice to friendlies

Other friendlies are also taking place Wednesday and Thursday, with Brazil and Colombia, the dust barely settled following their brutal World Cup quarter-final, clashing again.

Dunga begins his second stint as Brazil coach, while the return of Colombia forward Radamel Falcao and a likely meeting of Neymar and Juan Camilo Zuniga adds further spice to the match at the Sun Life stadium in Miami.

Elsewhere, Italy and Netherlands, who meet each other in Bari, and Japan, who face Uruguay, start life under new coaches.

Both Germany and Argentina are beginning new eras as they meet for the second time in two months.

Gerardo Martino will take charge of Argentina for the first time since replacing Alejandro Sabella, who stepped down following the World Cup final after almost three years in charge.

Lionel Messi looks likely to miss Wednesday’s game after Barcelona said he suffered a hamstring strain in the 1-0 win over Villarreal on Sunday.

The news was greeted with suspicion by Argentine media who pointed out that Messi played the full 90 minutes without showing any obvious signs of injury.

“The priority is not the result,” Martino said before leaving for Duesseldorf, taking with him the squad that got to the World Cup final, minus Messi. “What’s important is that there’s a good atmosphere in the squad.”

Germany have had to contend with several high-profile retirements. Record scorer Miroslav Klose, experienced defender Per Mertesacker and captain Philipp Lahm all hung up their boots after success in Brazil, the latter despite being 30 years old and arguably at his peak.

Germany coach Joachim Loew has included 18 members of his World Cup squad while strikers Marco Reus, who missed the tournament due to injury, and Mario Gomez, who was overlooked, return.

Brazil’s disastrous World Cup led to widespread calls for a fresh start and a new approach but they seem to have done the opposite by bringing back Dunga, who was in charge from 2006 to 2010 during a period when many felt that Brazil stagnated.

Far from a clearout, Dunga’s first squad has included 11 players from the World Cup, among them defenders David Luiz and Marcelo who were considered two of the main culprits in the 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany.

There has even been a recall for Robinho, whose career has been on the slide for several years, as a late replacement for the injured Hulk.

But critics were mildly encouraged by the selection of attacking midfielders such as Philippe Coutinho, Ricardo Goulart, Everton Ribeiro and Diego Tardelli and the absence of a lumbering target man such as Jo or Fred.

Although the match on Friday is billed a friendly, Brazil’s 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win in Fortaleza left a bitter taste on both sides.

Colombia claimed they were bullied as the hosts committed 31 fouls while Brazil were furious after Zuniga lunged into Neymar’s back, fracturing a vertebrae and ending his participation in the competition.

Both players have been named in their respective squads.

Colombia coach Jose Pekerman, who has renewed his contract until the 2018 World Cup, has kept the nucleus of the squad which performed so well in Brazil and is also able to welcome back Falcao who missed the tournament through injury.

Italy’s new coach Antonio Conte, faced with a rebuilding job after their group stage exit in Brazil, has dropped maverick forward Mario Balotelli against the Dutch where Guus Hiddink starts a second spell in charge at the of 67.

“I will be happy if we make people proud to be Italian again, I will be happy if we again become an example for all the country,” Conte said.

Spain, still under Vicente del Bosque, visit France in Paris on Thursday for their first match since their group stage World Cup exit, Belgium host Australia in Brussels the same evening and two of the World Cup success stories, Chile and Mexico, meet in San Francisco on Friday.

Mexican Javier Aguirre will make his debut on the bench for Japan at home to Uruguay in Sapporo on Friday while his counterpart Oscar Tabarez will miss the game after undergoing a back operation.

Uruguay have not called up Luis Suarez, banned for nine competitive internationals for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup, even though he is eligible to play in friendly matches.

England are expecting their lowest Wembley attendance since the rebuilt stadium was re-opened in 2007 for Norway’s visit on Wednesday.

English FA general secretary Alex Horne said only the lower tier of seats will be used for an expected crowd of between 35,000 and 40,000.

Troubled 2018 World Cup hosts Russia go into their friendly at home to Azerbaijan in Khimki on Wednesday amid controversy after sports minister Vitaly Mutko said that coach Fabio Capello and his staff had not been paid for three months.

United States coach Juergen Klinsmann has named five uncapped young players to his squad for Wednesday’s match against the Czech Republic in Prague, plus 10 members of the World Cup squad.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2014