Germany sweating on Frings fitness

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-23  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

GERMANY midfielder Torsten Frings remains doubtful for Wednesday's Euro 2008 semifinal against Turkey in Basel.

Frings missed the 3-2 win over Portugal in the quarterfinals after fracturing a rib in the previous game against Austria.

"Of course we want Frings fit but we have to wait and see," team manager Oliver Bierhoff told a news conference at the team's Swiss base in Tenero yesterday.

"So far he's only been running in training. We still haven't seen how it goes with tackling and challenging for the ball. He's burning to play but we need more discussions with the medical staff."

With Frings unavailable, Germany coach Joachim Loew changed his midfield formation to good effect against Portugal.

He brought in Simon Rolfes and Thomas Hitzlsperger to play as holding midfielders and gave captain Michael Ballack freedom to get much further forward.

"You'll have to ask the coach about who will be playing against Turkey but as far as I'm concerned we will only pick players who are 100 percent fit," said Bierhoff, who added that the shock 1-2 defeat by Croatia in the group phase ended up working in Germany's favor as it kept the squad on high alert.

Portugal, Croatia and the Netherlands all qualified for the quarterfinals with a game to spare and took the opportunity to name shadow sides for their third matches.

All three teams then found they had lost their momentum and were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Spain, in a similar situation, will attempt to buck the trend when it faces Italy last night.

"It can be a disadvantage if you reach the knockout phase too early," Bierhoff said.

"It's hard to keep up the same level of tension.

"In hindsight, losing to Croatia was no bad thing because it meant we stayed on alert."