Philipp Lahm will be Germany's World Cup captain, taking the place of the injured Michael Ballack, while Nigeria have welcomed back John Obi Mikel and the France squad have set up camp at a Tunisian beach resort.
German coach Joachim Loew named Bayern Munich defender Lahm on Friday to stand in for Ballack, who will miss next month's finals in South Africa because of an ankle injury.
Right back Lahm, 26, who also played in the 2006 World Cup, is one of the German squad's most experienced players, with 64 caps.
"Lahm has played in his position with great class and will take over the role of captain," Loew told reporters at the team's Italian training camp.
Loew also announced that Manuel Neuer, who plays for Schalke 04, would be the starting goalkeeper at the finals, with Werder Bremen's Tim Wiese the second choice and Bayern Munich's Hans-Joerg Butt third.
The squad will have a guest of honour at dinner on Monday, when German chancellor Angela Merkel pays a visit.
Nigeria announced that Chelsea midfielder Mikel would be fit for the World Cup after he joined the squad for the first time since knee surgery last month.
The squad are training in eastern England and play Colombia in a friendly in Milton Keynes on Sunday.
France coach Raymond Domenech started his World Cup preparations in the Alpine ski village of Tignes and he has now taken his squad to a holiday resort near Sousse, on the Tunisian coast.
"This is pleasant with the beach, a nice restaurant and everything, but we're also here to work," defender Marc Planus told reporters.
LAST GAME
The team play Tunisia on Sunday before flying to the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion to play China in their last game before the World Cup starts on June 11.
Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac plans to use warm-up games against the Netherlands and Latvia to reorganise his team after influential midfielder Michael Essien was ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury.
"We will have to make a number of tactical adjustments because Essien is probably the best player in the world in his position and coping without him will be very difficult," Rajevac told Reuters.
In South Africa, tournament organisers faced headaches with police called in to control angry crowds after the ticketing system collapsed as they tried to buy seats, and officials complaining about fans who caused traffic jams at the Soccer City stadium by not using public transport.
Two cleaners at a Johannesburg hotel were charged with stealing money from the rooms of the Colombian team before a friendly against South Africa and Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar added to the organisers' woes by describing the official tournament ball as "terrible, horrible."
सौरसे : http://uk.news.yahoo.com
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