Back in Germany for friendly

The German national team trained in Düsseldorf on Saturday, having returned from a turbulent training camp in South Tyrol. Joachim Löw's side will face Cameroon in nearby Mönchengladbach on Sunday evening - the last chance for the head coach to see his players in action before Monday's deadline to submit a squad of 23 for the World Cup.

"We hope to bring our training camp to a positive conclusion," goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller said of the Cameroon test. Weidenfeller is expected to start against Cameroon, with first-choice goalie Manuel Neuer still shaking off a shoulder injury. Both Neuer and captain Philipp Lahm, unavailable for Sunday's match, flew back to Munich on Saturday for further treatment rather than following the squad to North Rhine-Westphalia.

"Lahm and Neuer will find their rhythm quickly again," Löw said of Bayer Munich's injured pair, with 150 caps between them.

Reus eyes birthday bash in Brazil

Borussia Dortmund star Marco Reus celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday, as he prepares for his first ever World Cup.

"I'm not a young talent any more. It's about time I held something great in my hands," Reus said, ahead of the return to his old stomping ground at Gladbach's Borussia Park stadium. After two strong seasons at Borussia Dortmund, Reus has graduated from a fringe talent to most likely a key attacking cog in Germany's team for Brazil.

Cameroon are also headed to the World Cup, to compete with hosts Brazil and Olympic champions Mexico in Group A.

Spain, Netherlands name final 23

With Löw likely to leave his nominations until after Sunday's game, European rivals Vicente Del Bosque and Louis van Gaal named their final squads for Brazil.

Spain's Del Bosque, who eliminated Germany in the semifinals en route to the grand prize in South Africa four years ago, had to gamble on some injured personnel himself. Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa, who played just nine minutes in the Champions League final after a failed "miracle cure," made the list. Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo was among the high-profile names left out, along with Fernando Llorente, and Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal. Bayern Munich's Javi Martinez was the only Bundesliga player in the 23-player squad.

Spain will face classic German rivals the Netherlands in their opening World Cup game, part of a tough group stage also involving Australia and Chile.

Future Manchester United and former Bayern Munich boss Louis van Gaal, who will leave the Netherlands after the competition, named something of a transitional squad on Saturday, looking more towards future competitions.

Despite big-name inclusions in the more attacking areas - for instance Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - many members of the squad will enter the global stage as comparatively fresh faces from Dutch Eredivisie clubs.

Hamburg captain Rafael van der Vaart was ruled out of the competition with injury mid-week, while the absence of AS Roma's Kevin Strootman is a major loss for the Netherlands in the middle of the park.

msh/rc (AFP, dpa, SID)