Voller takes some heart

Germany coach Rudi Voller insists there are worse things that could happen to their World Cup preparations than last night's 1-0 defeat to Wales.

Injuries have already deprived Voller of influential defender Jens Nowotny and experienced midfielder Mehmet Scholl, and he fears he could lose more players with five members of his squad involved in tonight's Champions League Final.

He will be watching anxiously and hoping Bayer Leverkusen's Michael Ballack, Bernd Schneider, Oliver Neuville, Carsten Ramelow and Hans Jorg Butt all come through unscathed just seven days before their departure to the Far East.

If they do not, then Voller may admit their preparations have gone off the rails. "But you should not paint things so black now," he said. "If three of my Leverkusen players get injured tonight then it will be dark. But losing 1-0 against Wales is not reason enough for us to be down."

However, at the Millennium Stadium Germany were still embarrassed, despite Voller's post-match claims to the contrary. Against a vibrant Welsh side, they were shown to be vulnerable to pace, indecisive and lacking a fighting spirit until it was too late - traits which they had hoped were left behind in the wreckage of their Munich humiliation to England.

With just 17 days to go to their World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia, Voller has plenty to mull over in the aftermath of the defeat in Wales, clinched by Robert Earnshaw's debut goal 13 seconds into the second half.