German national team coach Joachim Löw named a 21-member squad for the upcoming international friendly match against Paraguay on August 14. The announcement was made during a press conference earlier on Thursday.

The German squad will be back to almost full strength as most of the Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund players return to the squad after missing out the last matches – the USA Tour – due to the UEFA Champions League final and the German Cup final.

Captain Philipp Lahm, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as well as Jerome Boateng and Thomas Müller will be back in the squad from UEFA Champions League winners FC Bayern Munich, while Borussia Dortmund stars Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, Ilkay Gündogan, Sven Bender and Marco Reus will be also on the roster to face the South Americans.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Götze and Toni Kroos have been left out of the squad to give the trio enough time to recover from their injuries and to gain some rest ahead of the busy season.

“I’m pleased that, for the first time in five months, there are many players available from which we can build a team”, said Joachim Löw during the press conference. “It’s important to get off to a good start this season as we hope to be world champions in Brazil by the end of it. We want to use the game against Paraguay as preparation for the World Cup qualifiers in September and October.”

André Schürrle (Chelsea FC) and Mario Gomez (ACF Fiorentina) will be joining the German national team from abroad for the very first time as both of them joined new clubs. Löw is hopeful that the foreign exposure will help both players to reach a new level and that the German national team will be able to gain from their experience.

“I’m sure both players will benefit from experience abroad. It’s clear that André Schürrle is in good hands with José Mourinho, when you consider the progress Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira made under his guidance at Real Madrid. I also think Mario Gomez’s move is a good one; in Florence he’ll get the support he needs to reach his full potential. I’m sure that he’ll get on just as well in Italy as his fellow striker Miroslav Klose is,” Löw stated.

Looking forward to the first match of the new season, Löw said: “Although the World Cup in Brazil is just ten months away, the match against Paraguay also gives us a welcome opportunity to deal with the typical South American style of play.”

“Paraguay will be extremely motivated against us. We’re looking forward to the game and believe that Kaiserslautern will be an atmospheric setting for it. Of course, we also want to give the crowd something to cheer.”

Germany will take on Austria (September 6) in their next FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 Qualifier, before they lock horns with Faroe Islands (September 10), the Republic of Ireland (October 10) and Sweden (October 15) in the qualifiers. Joachim Löw’s team would also play two friendly matches in November, should Germany seal direct qualification for the World Cup.

GERMANY SQUAD

Goalkeepers
René Adler (Hamburger SV), Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München)

Defenders
Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München), Benedikt Höwedes (FC Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Marcell Jansen (Hamburger SV), Philip Lahm (FC Bayern München), Per Mertesacker (FC Arsenal), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund)

Midfielders
Lars Bender (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund), Julian Draxler (FC Schalke 04), Ilkay Gündogan (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München), Mesut Özil (Real Madrid), Lukas Podolski (FC Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), André Schürrle (Chelsea London)

Forwards
Mario Gomez (ACF Fiorentina), Miroslav Klose (SS Lazio Roma)