Berlin - Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones has won a place in midfield for Germany against England in Berlin on Wednesday. Jones, who missed out on the Germany squad for Euro 2008, gets his chance in defensive midfield after the omission of Torsten Frings.
It will be a first start for the 27-year-old son of a US serviceman who grew up in Frankfurt.
He was the only definite German starter named by team manager Oliver Bierhoff Tuesday for the friendly international.
However, coach Joachim Loew is expected to give a first cap to Wolfsburg defender Marcel Schaefer, while Werder Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese could also make his debut at some point in the game.
With captain Michael Ballack also absent, Jones could line up with Bayer Leverkusen's Simon Rolfes, Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger and Hamburg's Piotr Trochowski in midfield.
Jones, a dynamic and strong-tackling player, has deserved his chance after missing out on Euro 2008 despite being in a provisional squad for the tournament, Bierhoff said.
The player's international career has also been hampered by serious injuries just as he seemed to be making his breakthrough, and his two previous caps have come as a substitute.
"It was a difficult decision to leave him out of the squad for the European Championships but he has always shown a good sporting attitude and put in a lot of effort," Bierhoff said.
England manager Fabio Capello will be fielding a new-look side after more than half a dozen regulars pulled out with injuries.
Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Chelsea team-mates Ashley and Joe Cole and striker Emile Heskey are all sidelined.
Fulham's Jimmy Bullard and Scott Parker of West Ham have been added to the squad to replace Liverpool skipper Gerrard and Chelsea's Lampard in midfield.
The squad features uncapped players in Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne, currently on loan to Wolves, and the Aston Villa pair Gabriel Agbonlahor and Curtis Davies.
Germany have never beaten England in seven matches in Berlin, and the last time the two teams met on German soil England were 5-1 winners in a World Cup qualifier in Munich in September 2001.
Told by a English journalist that England fans still like watching videos of the match, Bierhoff quipped, "It is the only video you can watch."
Germany have had the better of recent meetings between the two sides, winning 2-1 at Wembley in their last encounter in August 2007.
But Bierhoff said it was important that fans from both sides could "see things in an ironic way" despite old rivalries.
Around 10,000 England supporters are expected for the match in the Olympic Stadium. Officials were optimistic there would be no security problems unlike in Munich seven years ago when police clashed with English hooligans.
German Football Federation security chief Helmut Spahn told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa: "The last away games involving the England team passed off without any problems. We believe there will not be the sort of clashes we saw in 2001."
Bierhoff said although both sides were weakened by injuries it would still be a key match.
"It is a very important game because it is the end of the year and you want to finish on a high note going into the winter break," he said.
"We did hope we would have full-strength squads from both sides. It is a great pity without a doubt. England will be weaker but I still believe it will be a good game.
"Capello is a cunning old hand in the business, and it is a time for fresh players to show their worth. It's a great pity they are not at full strength but their young players will be motivated."
Meanwhile Loew addressed his squad late Monday to lay down some guidelines on player behaviour after a serious of conflicts and public complaints from Ballack and Frings.
"The debate had been going too far. If you want to call it a conflict then that conflict is done and dusted," Bierhoff said.
The team manager insisted the hierarchy in the squad had not been affected.
Older players like captain Ballack and Frings were still highly influential, but several younger players - for example defender Philipp Lahm, midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Simon Rolfes, and defender Per Mertesacker - were now having an increasing say on the pitch and in the dressing room.
"When they were first around they were just flowing with the tide and staying unobtrusive but that is no longer the case," he said of the younger generation of German players.
