Ballack rues Germany inexperience

Ballack has scored 30 goals for Germany in 63 appearances

Germany captain Michael Ballack has played down his side's chances in this summer's World Cup, claiming they are too inexperienced.

Ballack told German daily Handelsblatt: "We have players that have been on the pitch sporadically with their clubs.

"We don't have the choice of players we had in the 1990 World Cup or in the 1996 European Championship.

"As a result the team makes mistakes and that's why there is a little uncertainty ahead of the tournament."

Ballack, who became Chelsea's first summer signing, went on to say: "The results and performances in the run-up to the World Cup show that this team is not so stable."

Germany take on Costa Rica in the opening match of the tournament on Friday before they face Poland and Ecuador in Group A.

Their results leading up to the competition have also been less than convincing.

Despite beating Colombia 3-0 in their final warm-up match, among their other matches they shared a 2-2 draw with Japan and were beaten 4-1 by Italy in March.