Germany ace Mesut Ozil passed fit to face Mexico in World Cup opener after recovering from knee injury
Ozil was ruled out of Germany's final World Cup warm-up games but has been declared fit by Joachim Low
MESUT Ozil has been passed fit to start Germany’s World Cup opener.
The defending champions begin their quest to retain the crown against Mexico in the Luzhniki Stadium tomorrow.
Arsenal ace Ozil was a major doubt with a knee injury that ruled him out of Germany’s final warm-up friendlies.
But coach Joachim Low revealed today the Gunners star is fit for consideration - although he did not give away any team news.
Low said: “All the players are fit.
“Mesut Ozil had two extra training sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
“The overall impression is good. He is fit.
“I still have two or three options in terms of who is in the team but I want to announce it to the players first before disclosing it.”
Ozil has been in the line of fire back home after he and Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan posed for pictures with Turkish President Recep Erdogan, with calls from some for the pair to be dumped from the squad.
That was never going to happen but if Ozil is given extra time to be fit his place would probably be taken by Paris St Germain schemer Julian Draxler.
Draxler said: “Mesut is very important player for us. That’s a fact.
“The debate over his body language has raged for a couple of years.
“But he is an exceptional player with unparalleled technical abilities and our most creative player on the pitch. He will be there when we need him and he will be delivering in this tournament.”
Low admitted he was thrilled by Portugal’s stunning 3-3 draw with Spain last night.
The German boss added: “We enjoyed watching Russia in the opening match and seeing the euphoria reach stellar dimensions.
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“Yesterday we saw a true World Cup match, the essence of the World Cup.
“It was a great match with great drama, two technically excellent teams with spectacular goals and a real joy to watch. That was the World Cup at its purest.
“Now we would like to get started. The first game is always difficult because things change and not everything works out.
“Everybody is positively focused and tense, yearning for the kick off to take place, wanting to show their best performance and take that first step. It’s the same for everyone, irrespective of being holders or not.”