Germany honor Schweinsteiger, Podolski with farewell games

(Reuters) – Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski will be honored with farewell matches after announcing their retirement from international duty, according to a statement by the German Football Association.

Schweinsteiger revealed his intention to end his international career after winning his 120th cap in Germany’s Euro 2016 semi-final defeat by France in July, and will have a final opportunity to say goodbye to supporters against Finland in Moenchengladbach on Aug. 31.

Podolski announced that he no longer wanted to be considered for international selection in a post on his official Instagram account on Monday (poldi_official), although due to a ankle injury, the date of his farewell match has not yet been confirmed.

“I know it means a lot for them to play for Germany one more time,” German manager Joachim Loew told the federation’s official website. (www.dfb.de) “This proves how much the team meant and still means to them.”

Both players were part of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad. Podolski is Germany’s third most-capped player with 129 appearances; Schweinsteiger has made 120.

(Reporting by Ed Dove, editing by Neil Robinson)