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   June 28, 2002 | 1430 IST
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Germany to rely on discipline v Brazil

Reuters
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Germany will rely on their traditional virtues when they face Brazil for the first time in World Cup history in Sunday's final.

"Plenty of order and discipline are required," coach Rudi Voeller said on Friday, just before the triple champions left their Seoul base for Yokohama which hosts the final.

"We must switch to the attacking mode but we must do it carefully because Brazil have players capable of using any opportunity to counter-attack," added the former World Cup striker.

Voeller lifted the trophy in 1990 after losing in the final four years earlier. Brazil have won four times.

Nothing fancy should be expected from the Germans, who have advanced to the big game in unspectacular fashion and realise they are blessed with less talent than their opponents.

"In terms of individual players they have more class than we have but that's not something we should be ashamed of," Voeller said. "All the other teams are in the same situation when compared to Brazil."

As always, Voeller declined to drop any hints on his starting line-up but he said all his preferred players were ready to go despite minor injury worries.

"I could feel in training yesterday (Thursday) how impatient they were to set foot on the pitch," he said. "They would rather play straight away than having to wait another day."

Top striker Miroslav Klose, who has scored five goals in the tournament, trained fully on Thursday despite a sore hip and should start up front alongside Oliver Neuville.

SCARE FOR KAHN

Goalkeeper and captain Oliver Kahn, who was instrumental in his side's run to the final by conceding only one goal, had to receive treatment on a painful neck during the session but Voeller said there was nothing to worry about.

"The goalkeepers' training is so intense that such things happen," the coach said. "He's still alive."

There was a question mark over Carsten Jancker, who was fighting a bout of fever, but the Bayern Munich striker plays only a secondary part in Voeller's plans.

Midfielder Dietmar Hamann should take over the playmaking duties from the suspended Michael Ballack, who sacrificed himself to the cause with a bookable offence in Tuesday's 1-0 semi-final victory over South Korea in which he hit the winner.

The tireless Jens Jeremies should be handed Hamann's usual defensive role at the centre of midfield.

Voeller, who has kept experimenting with his defence, should pick the same back four he used for the semi-final, with Thomas Linke and Carsten Ramelow in the centre and Torsten Frings and Christoph Metzelder on the wings.

The coach, who has masterminded Germany's emergence from their worst crisis, looked a bit nervous but said he had experienced tougher situations since embarking on his mission two years ago.

"The pressure is not as high as it was before the matches against Ukraine," he said, referring to last November's playoffs which Germany had to survive to qualify after finishing behind England in qualifying.

Probable team (4-4-2)

1-Oliver Kahn; 22-Torsten Frings, 2-Thomas Linke, 5-Carsten Ramelow, 21- Christoph Metzelder; 19-Bernd Schneider, 16-Jens Jeremies, 8-Dietmar Hamann, 17-Marco Bode; 7-Oliver Neuville, 11-Miroslav Klose.

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