Joachim Löw, coach of Germany’s national football team, confirmed Wednesday that veteran midfielder Michael Ballack will remain his first-choice captain despite being left out of their opening Euro 2012 qualifying games.

Ballack, 33, has been dropped for the first two games against Belgium in Brussels on Friday and Azerbaijan at home four days later as he continues his recovery from the ankle injury that kept him out of the World Cup.

Among the 21 players called upon by German coach Joachim Löw for two upcoming qualifying games, 17 were part of the DFB-team, that had clinched third place at the World Cup in South Africa. Germany kicks-off their qualifying run for the 2012 European Championships with matches against Belgium in Brussels on September 3, and against Azerbaijan on September 7 in Cologne.

Real Madrid have signed German World Cup star Mesut Ozil from Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around €15 million.

Werder turned down an offer which was described as “risible” by general manager Klaus Allofs last week but have now reached an agreement for Ozil, who would have been available on a free transfer when his contract expired in 12 months.

Denmark recovered from two goals down to grab a deserved 2-2 draw with Germany in the two nations’ first fixture since the World Cup.

Mario Gomez put Germany ahead against the run of play in the 19th minute and Patrick Helmes added a second in the 73rd.

However, Dennis Rommedahl and Mads Junker struck back to ensure that Morten Olsen’s side earned a draw in Copenhagen.

Both coaches were deprived of the majority of their regular first-team squads for this friendly match, which fell at an unfortunate time with domestic seasons on the verge of beginning and numerous players, mainly from the regular Germany squad, only just back in training following the World Cup.

Denmark’s players have had a longer holiday this summer following their early elimination in South Africa and they looked fresher early on.

Daniel Agger went close with a header in the seventh minute before a succession of dangerous free-kicks from Christian Eriksen threatened Tim Wiese’s goal.

Yet it was the visitors who went ahead with their first attack in the 19th minute.

Thomas Hitzlsperger was the provider, although his finely-threaded throughball seemed to be aimed at Toni Kroos, although it fell perfectly for Gomez to…

Only 7 of the 17 players called-upon by Joachim Löw belonged to the German World Cup team. The rest of the World Cup team have rejoined their clubs and are preparing for the new football season. Germany faces Denmark in a friendly at Copenhagen on Wednesday.

Löw nominated the goalkeepers Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04) and Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen), defenders Jerome Boateng (Manchester City) and Serdar Tasci (VfB Stuttgart), midfielders Toni Kroos (Bayern München), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen) as well as forward Mario Gomez (Bayern München).

Thomas Mueller celebrated signing a new contract with Bayern Munich by helping the Bundesliga champions to win the pre-season German Supercup clash with runners-up Schalke on Saturday.

The 20-year-old, a revelation for Germany at the 2010 World Cup after scoring five goals, broke the deadlock in the second half in Augsburg before Miroslav Klose sealed a 2-0 win.

Before the match, he agreed a two-year extension to his previous deal, which was due to expire in 2013.