Longtime Germany captain Michael Ballack was left out of Joachim Loew's squad Friday for the first two 2012 European Championship qualifiers.
Loew said he had spoken with Ballack in a "good and confidential" phone call in which they agreed the 33-year-old midfielder needs more training to return to form after an ankle injury that ruled him out of the World Cup.
Included in the 21-man squad for games next Friday against Belgium in Brussels and Azerbaijan on Sept. 7 in Cologne are 17 players from the World Cup team that finished third in South Africa.
"Of course we are striving for a successful start in the Euro 2012 qualification and want to build on our achievements at the World Cup," Loew said.
New to the lineup are Rene Adler, who joins World Cup goalkeepers Manuel Neuer and Tim Wiese, defender Heiko Westermann of Hamburg, midfielder Christian Traesch of Stuttgart and defender Sascha Riether of Wolfsburg.
Midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger of West Ham is out injured, as are Arne Friedrich of Wolfsburg, Jerome Boateng of Manchester City and Piotr Trochowski of Hamburg.
With Ballack still out, Philipp Lahm will keep the captain's armband that he wore at the World Cup.
Ballack, who was injured in the FA Cup final in May when he was still at Chelsea, made a successful Bundesliga comeback with Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday. The team kept him home from a Europa League qualifier Thursday to "regenerate." He is to play again this weekend.
"Three months after a serious injury, Michael is back on track and we are all happy with how he is healing," Loew said. "But it is important that he works his way back to optimum fitness in Leverkusen in the coming weeks."
Lahm and Ballack have been at odds over who will continue as Germany captain. By keeping him off the squad for the first two games, Loew has bought himself more time to make a decision.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Schalke), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)
Defenders: Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Sascha Riether (Wolfsburg), Heiko Westermann (Hamburg)
Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Oezil (Real Madrid), Lukas Podolski (FC Cologne), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Christian Traesch (Stuttgart)
Forwards: Cacau (Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich)
