Germans suffer late blow with Khedira out
Lena Gercke, the girlfriend of Germany’s Sami Khedira, waits for the start of the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 13, 2014. A calf injury forced Khedira to withdraw from the World Cup final with Argentina after suffering the injury in the warm-up on Sunday. AP PHOTO/MATTHIAS SCHRADER
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil–A calf injury forced Sami Khedira to withdraw from the World Cup final with Argentina after suffering the injury in the warm-up on Sunday.
Christoph Kramer comes in for the Real Madrid star in what will be the 23-year-old’s fifth cap but first start in a competitive match.
Argentina kept Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria on the substitutes’ bench in their lineup for the game.
Germany
Manuel Neuer; Philipp Lahm (capt), Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Benedikt Hoewedes; Bastian Schweinsteiger, Christoph Kramer; Thomas Mueller, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil; Miroslav Klose
Coach: Joachim Loew (GER)
Argentina
Sergio Romero; Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo; Lucas Biglia, Javier Mascherano, Enzo Perez; Gonzalo Higuain, Lionel Messi (capt), Ezequiel Lavezzi
Coach: Alejandro Sabella (ARG)
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
