Joachim Löw has handed Borussia Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller a debut call-up to the German national team as he announced his squad for the upcoming friendly matches against Italy and England.

The 33-year old Weidenfeller is one of the three goalkeepers named by Löw in the 24-member squad for the matches on November 15 in Milan and November 19 at Wembley. “Manuel Neuer is still our number one and we know we can rely on Rene Adler and the younger goalkeepers like Ron-Robert Zieler and Marc- André ter Stegen,” said Löw during the official announcement. “However, we’ve been monitoring Roman Weidenfeller for some time now and his consistently good performances for Borussia Dortmund both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League haven’t gone unnoticed. We’re looking forward to having him here and getting to know him better.”

Löw will be missing the services of Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern Munich), Ilkay Gündogan (Borussia Dortmund), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal FC) and Mario Gomez (AFC Fiorentina) due to injuries.

“I hope Bastian comes away from the operation free of any complaints. I’m sure he’ll rediscover his best form for both Bayern Munich and the national team. He’s essential for us, especially looking ahead to the World Cup in Brazil,” Löw told.

But Löw clearly stated that his squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is still far from decided. “We don’t need to make any decisions with regard to the goalkeepers or indeed any other positions just yet. The squad for the tournament will be named in May 2014. Until then, we’re glad to have the opportunity to test out any tactics or players we can. Competition for places is only going to get tougher over the next few months.”

The match against Italy will be a very special one for the German coach as he celebrates his 100th game in charge of the “Mannschaft”. The German team has won 68 of their 99 matches since he took the helm, drawing 16 and losing 15.

““Far more important than the milestone itself is the fact that I’m still enjoying the job and carrying it out with just as much energy and motivation as I was when I began against Sweden over seven years ago,” Löw stated. “This milestone does however present me with an opportunity to thank people for all their trust and support over the past few years, particularly DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach, Hansi Flick, Andreas Köpke, Oliver Bierhoff and Urs Siegenthaler, as well as all the players and staff. We’ve still got some major objectives we hope to achieve together and it’s great that we can continue our work as a group.”

GERMANY SQUAD

Goalkeepers
René Adler (Hamburger SV), Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund)

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

Midfielders
Lars Bender (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund), Julian Draxler (FC Schalke 04), Mario Götze (FC Bayern Munich), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid CF), Toni Kroos (FC Bayern Munich), Thomas Müller (FC Bayern Munich), Mesut Özil (Real Madrid CF), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Sidney Sam (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), André Schürrle (Chelsea FC)

Forwards
Miroslav Klose (Lazio Roma), Max Kruse (Borussia Moenchengladbach)