Mesut News

Coach Joachim Loew has called up four newcomers for Germany's exhibition games against Ecuador and the United States, with the stars of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund absent because the teams are playing in the Champions League final.

Borussia Dortmund withstood a nervy finish to reach the Champions League final on Tuesday despite a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid that wasn't enough to overturn the German team's large advantage from the first leg.

Madrid were humbled 4-1 by Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their semi-final tie, with prolific marksman Robert Lewandowski scoring all four goals in a memorable performance.

Franz Beckenbauer wasn't perturbed after Germany lost 1-0 to Spain in the 2010 World Cup semifinal.

Dortmund's triumph in the first leg of the semifinal also lined up the prospect of an all-German final at Wembley Stadium on May 25, following Bayern Munich's 4-0 rout of Barcelona on Tuesday.

Coverage and live analysis from Times reporters, editors and others. Kickoff in Dortmund is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. Eastern .

For the fourth straight week, the German champions were voted the top team by a panel of journalists following back-to-back 6-1 wins - first against Wolfsburg in the German Cup semifinals and then over Hannover on Saturday for its 13th straight Bundesliga victory.

The 25-year-old winger believes the Liga giants will be once again subjected to an arduous 90 minutes in Germany in this week's Champions League semi-final first leg Angel di Maria has warned that Real Madrid will need to be at the top of their game to overcome Borussia Dortmund in Wednesday's Champions League clash.