Absentees highlight club versus country conflict

LONDON: There are few more evocative fixtures in world soccer than Germany against England yet the build-up to Wednesday's friendly in Berlin was rendered almost meaningless by a high-profile list of absentees.

England are without virtually their entire first 11 for the clash in the Olympic Stadium, meaning the build-up has been overshadowed by the rumbling club versus country debate.

Only four players from England's established "big four" teams were scheduled to be on international duty on Wednesday after injuries and niggles left manager Fabio Capello with no alternative but to experiment with his squad players.