Germany coach: Ability key not age

Germany head coach Joachim Low says that ability rather than age is the decisive factor in who he decides to call up for national team duty.

Teenager Mario Gotze of Borussia Dortmund and Mainz duo Lewis Holtby and Andre Schurrle will all feature in the friendly against Sweden next week, with Low taking a look at a number of potential future stars.

He told Bild: "All of them have played really, really well this season over a long period of time. I can imagine them making the step up to the very highest level.

"If I have the feeling that a player fits in with our philosophy, then I will call him up. That can happen even after a matter of weeks. Age does not come into it.

"The argument that you need to have two or three years of experience performing consistently well before you can be called into the national team does not apply with me."