Voeller facing selection problems

Germany coach Rudi Voeller has plenty of selection problems ahead of tomorrow's clash with Paraguay in the second round of the World Cup.

Voeller has fielded exactly the same line-up for his team's first three games but with defender Carsten Ramelow , Dietmar Hamann and fellow midfielder Christian Ziege all suspended for the game in Seogwipo, he now has to experiment.

To make matters worse, midfielder Joerg Boehme, who would have been a logical replacement, flew home on Wednesday after tearing a thigh muscle while warming up for Tuesday's 2-0 win over Cameroon that sent the triple world champions through to the knock-out stages.

"I don't think it's that dramatic," Jens Jeremies, who is expected to take Hamann's defensive role in the centre of midfield, said of Germany's situation yesterday.

"The three, four or five new players who will start will be fresh and eager to make a point."

Voeller, who lost a handful of important players to injuries before the finals, refused to unveil his plans, leaving the door open to speculation.

"The coach has done everything right up to now and we are all convinced he will make the right decisions," said key playmaker Michael Ballack, who was one of several players to praise Voeller's tactical choices for the Cameroon game.

With his side down to 10 men and at risk of going out, the former World Cup striker successfully dropped his preferred back-three to opt for a more common flat back-four. Germany then managed to control their unpredictable opponents and scored twice.

Christoph Metzelder and Thomas Linke could be paired in central defence, with Marko Rehmer and Torsten Frings acting as wing-backs.

Versatile veteran Marco Bode, who opened the scoring against Cameroon after coming on as a substitute, is a strong candidate for the left side of midfield.

Ballack, who has been hampered by a bruised right foot but has looked better every match, should orchestrate play while the free-scoring Miroslav Klose looked certain to start up front.

Carsten Jancker, who has looked clumsy in front of goal, could be left out, with zippy winger Oliver Neuville likely to take his place, adding creativity and pace to the attack.

Jeremies warned that Paraguay, who battled their way through the group phase, should be treated seriously but he sounded confident.

"I think it will be a very tight game," said Jeremies, a team-mate of Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz at Bayern Munich. "But I believe we'll be in the quarter-finals and maybe we will even play a couple of games after that. We don't want to go home."