Cacau in doubt against Argentina

2 July 2010 /REUTERS/AP

Germany striker Cacau has not recovered from an abdominal muscle strain that forced him out of their second round win over England and is doubtful for Saturday’s quarter-final clash against Argentina.

Cacau picked up the injury in training last week and was replaced by Miroslav Klose in their 4-1 win over England. Klose is expected to win his 100th cap on Saturday in Cape Town. “Apart from Cacau, all other players are participating in training. He is doing some light running and therapy. But today and tomorrow it will not happen (training with the team),” coach Joachim Loew said. Striker Lukas Podoloski broke off training in the afternoon but team officials said it was purely a precautionary measure after he complained of a minor muscle problem. The 25-year-old is expected to play on Saturday. While heaping praise on the Argentine team, Loew said they were not invincible. “I expect an unbelievably tight match as we cannot allow ourselves any mistakes because for any mistake we make, they will punish us in an ice-cold way. They are the top favorites for the World Cup. They have so many players able to score.” Loew, who will have the support in the stands of German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as former captain Michael Ballack, who was injured weeks before the tournament and had to drop out, said Argentina did also have some weaknesses.

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