Veterans such as Oliver Kahn and Oliver Neuville have held the team together, but the goalkeeper has now been succeeded as number one by Arsenal's Jens Lehmann.
Chelsea's new signing Michael Ballack will be vital if Germany want to repeat their surprise run to the final four years ago.
In general, the rest of the squad are young and inexperienced and even the German FA have gone on record as saying that reaching the quarter-finals will represent a good achievement.
Their results in friendly matches during 2005 were far from consistent. They did earn a creditable 2-2 draw against Argentina in the Confederations Cup, but also suffered shock defeats to Turkey and Slovakia.
Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann
One to watch: Bastian Schweinsteiger
World ranking: 19
Previous tournaments: 15
Best Finish: Winners (1954, 1974, 1990)