Hannover 96 stopper Mertesacker is another player to have found favour under Jurgen Klinsmann, despite not being one of the outstanding players in the Bundesliga. A tall no-nonsense central defender, Mertesacker made his national team debut in October 2004 against Iran and has been a regular member of the squad ever since. A starting role looks to be in doubt after he lasted just 45 minutes of the 4-1 friendly thrashing by Italy in March, with Cristoph Metzelder and Robert Huth his main adversaries to be first choices.