Grosskreutz named in Germany squad
BERLIN - Borussia Dortmund midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz capped a superb start to the season with a Germany call-up on Friday for their Euro 2012 qualifiers against Turkey and Kazakhstan later this month.
The 22-year-old has been key in a five-game winning streak that has seen Dortmund climb to second spot in the Bundesliga after six matches.
There are no other major changes, apart from injured striker Stefan Kiessling being replaced by defender Jerome Boateng, who is fit again.
"We do not need to make big changes at this moment," Germany coach Joachim Low said in a statement. "We have deep trust in our existing strengths who were at the World Cup and met our expectations in the first two Euro qualifiers."
Germany, who were third in the World Cup in South Africa, host Turkey in Berlin on October 8 and travel to Kazakhstan four days later. They are top of Group A after winning both games so far, with Turkey also on six points but second on goal difference.
"I am looking forward to the Turkey match. It will be a highlight," Low said. Tens of thousands of visiting fans are expected in the capital, home to a large Turkish community.
"Not on only on the pitch but also the atmosphere in the stadium will be good. A lot of Turks live in Berlin and will offer fiery support in the Olympic stadium. We are prepared to deal with that," he said.
Squad:
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Goalkeepers: Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04) Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)
Defenders: Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Jerome Boateng (Manchester City), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg SV), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Sascha Riether (VfL Wolfsburg), Heiko Westermann (Hamburg SV)
Midfielders: Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid), Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Bastian Schweinsteiger 9bayern Munich), Christian Traesch (VfB Stuttgart)
Strikers: Cacau (VfB Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich).