Klinsmann names young squad for Iran friendly, omits Kahn

Sportinglife - Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann has opted to blood some of the country's promising youngsters for his side's friendly in Iran next month.

The 2006 World Cup hosts have included only five players with more than 20 caps in a 20-man squad for the trip to Tehran on October 9.

The absentees include veteran Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, Bayer Leverkusen defender Jens Nowotny and Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann.

There are potential debuts for Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger and Hannover defender Per Mertesacker who have been selected in a squad with an average age of just 24.

Germany squad: Timo Hildebrand (Stuttgart), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal); Frank Fahrenhorst (Werder Bremen), Andreas Gorlitz (Bayern Munich), Andreas Hinkel (Stuttgart), Robert Huth (Chelsea), Philipp Lahm (Stuttgart), Per Mertesacker (Hannover); Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich), Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen), Sebastian Deisler (Bayern Munich), Fabian Ernst (Werder Bremen), Torsten Frings (Bayern Munich), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Aston Villa), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich); Gerald Asamoah (Schalke), Thomas Brdaric (Wolfsburg), Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen), Lukas Podolski (Cologne)