Germany 2 - 0 Belgium

Germany v Belgium: Preview

Updated: August 19, 2008, 5:40 PM UK

Goalkeeper Robert Enke will have the chance to stake his claim to be Germany's new number one on Wednesday.

The Hannover stopper will start the international friendly against Belgium in Nuremberg - Germany's first game since losing the final of Euro 2008 to Spain.

The 30-year-old was an unused substitute throughout that tournament, but the retirement of veteran Jens Lehmann and the withdrawal from the squad through injury of Bayer Leverkusen's Rene Adler has handed him his chance.

It is our task to find our best goalkeeper before the 2010 World Cup, said Germany goalkeeper coach Andreas Kopke.

The door is open to everybody - in both directions.

That means a poor performance on Wednesday could wreck Enke's international ambitions, with Tim Wiese - who was called into the squad for the first time following Adler's injury - perhaps moving ahead of him in the pecking order.

Enke conceded three goals as Hannover lost their opening game of their Bundesliga season 3-0 to Schalke, but insists he can't wait to pull on the national team jersey.

I will do everything to be the number one, said Enke.

I am really looking forward to being able to play on Wednesday and I hope we can make it a good start to the new season of international matches.

Germany coach Low has already revealed he will hand starts to a number of fringe players ahead of next month's World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Finland.

Heiko Westermann, Simon Rolfes and Thomas Hitzlsperger will all play from the outset, with the latter looking to seal a place in the first-team after impressing at Euro 2008.

I really look forward to every international game and, after switching off during my holidays, I am now really happy to get back into it again, the Stuttgart midfielder told a press conference on Tuesday.

We all have got to show ourselves off. At Euro 2008, I played five times and moved closer to the first team and my aim now has got to be becoming a regular.

Wednesday's game at the Franken Stadion will also provide the stage for Serdar Tasci to make his Germany debut and Marko Marin to earn his second cap.

I am not sure if Tasci and Marko Marin will start or come on during the game, said Low, who will give most of his 19-man squad a run-out.

We have some new lads here and we expect to get a few important indications in view of September.

We want to play at a high pace and pick up momentum for the new season.

Belgium coach Rene Vandereycken has seen his options limited by his country's run to the semi-finals of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Young star such as Anthony Vanden Borre, Tom De Mul and Moussa Dembele are unavailable due to their Olympic exploits, meaning Vandereycken will turn to more seasoned campaigners.

I want to show some of the older players that I haven't forgotten them, Vandereycken said.

Vincent Kompany has returned from the Far East but will not feature against Germany, although fellow defender Daniel Van Buyten is set to start.

Kompany landed himself in hot water with his club Hamburg last week when he accused them of denying him the chance to win a medal after he was told to return to Germany early from Beijing for the start of the Bundesliga season.

Vandereycken explained the reason behind his decision to leave Kompany out of his squad for the match against Germany.

Kompany must take a time out now, Vandereycken said. He must give priority to fighting to get his place back at Hamburg.

If I'd selected Kompany, he would have been the only discussion point, also on the German side.

He will play with us in our World Cup qualifiers in September, but first he needs to get his place back at his club.

He understood that, I think when I told him about my decision.