Low to never call up Kuranyi AGAIN!

[azzurri16]

Well, I never saw this coming.... Thankies to our friends at the AP.

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) -- Germany's potentially crucial 2-1 win over Russia lost some luster Sunday when reserve striker Kevin Kuranyi was kicked off the national team after  apparently pulling a disappearing act.

Kuranyi was not picked for the 18-man squad for Saturday's game and watched the first half from the stands. He disappeared during halftime and had his belongings picked up  overnight from the team hotel.

"I cannot accept Kevin's reaction and I will not call him to the national team in the future," coach Joachim Loew said Sunday. "We are all stunned, it was a surprise to all of us."

Kuranyi was once Germany's starting striker but he was overlooked by then coach Juergen Klinsmann and did not make the cut for the 2006 World Cup at home. The Schalke striker  was recalled for the European Championship in June but did not make much of an impression and his form had been declining recently.

After being told he would not even be on the bench for the game against Russia, Kuranyi talked to Loew and expressed his disappointment, the coach said.

Kuranyi made his debut in March 2003 in a 1-1 draw with Lithuania and scored 19 goals in 52 appearances for Germany.

Loew tried to prevent the incident souring the team's mood after the important win over Russia with goals from striker Lukas Podolski and captain Michael Ballack in the first half.  Russia pulled a goal back from Andrei Arshavin early in the second half and came close to equalizing several times.

Germany, which lost the European Championship final to Spain 1-0, now has seven points from three games and leads Group 4. On Wednesday, Germany plays Wales, which has six  points after beating Liechtenstein 2-0 on Saturday.

Russia, a semifinalist at the European Championship, was considered Germany's most serious challenger in the group and the win gave Loew's team a confidence boost before  Wednesday's game in Moenchengladbach.

"We combined well, we played at a high pace and we created many chances," Loew said.

"The win was very important for us, but we have to follow it up with three more points. I expect Wales to be more defensive than Russia," he said.

In the first half, Germany played some of its best football since knocking out Portugal in the Euro quarterfinals, but the team eased up in the second half and was lucky not to concede  a goal that would have tied the game.

"We cannot gift any points in the group," Ballack said. "I don't think Russia will lose too many points against other teams."

"We played at a very high pace in the first half but we struggled in the second and if Russia had equalized it would not have been undeserved," the Chelsea midfielder said.