Germany have named their final World Cup squad, with Hoffenheim defender Andreas Beck the man to miss out.

Joachim Loew's side have suffered a series of blows with captain Michael Ballack and midfielders Christian Traesch and Simon Rolfes injured.

Germany also lost first-choice keeper Rene Adler because of a rib injury.

Heiko Westermann was ruled out earlier through injury and, by dropping Beck, Loew has decided to take six forwards among his 23 for South Africa.

Germany open their Group D campaign against Australia and also play Serbia and Ghana.

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"Beck had an average season and of course it's disappointing for him," said Loew after announcing his squad on Tuesday.

"He invested a lot in the training camp and was always fair and correct. He addressed a few words to the team in a meeting and the team responded with applause. He is going to get another chance."

Loew retained defenders Dennis Aogo of Hamburger SV and Holger Badstuber of Bayern Munich, who have only one game each for Germany and had never been called up before Loew announced his provisional squad.

Bayern Munich full-back Philipp Lahm will take over from Ballack and captain the team in South Africa.

The 26-year-old, who can play on either flank, was one of the stars of the 2006 World Cup and has racked up 64 caps since making his debut in 2004.

The Germans fly home on Wednesday and play Bosnia-Herzegovina in their final warm-up match in Frankfurt on Thursday. The team flies to South Africa on Sunday.

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Germany's 23-man World Cup squad:

Goalkeepers: Joerg Butt (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Schalke), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen).

Defenders: Dennis Aogo (Hamburger SV), Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Jerome Boateng (Hamburger SV), Marcell Jansen (Hamburger SV), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart).

Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Stuttgart), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Mesut Oezil (Werder Bremen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger SV).

Forwards: Cacau (Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Cologne).

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