World Cup: no rift in German team, players say

World Cup: no rift in German team, players say

"Absolute rubbish," Klose said. "I only said that he was a little tense and I meant it in a positive way. We understand each other very well."

Klose was not scheduled to appear at the daily German news conference, but was summoned after the appearance of reports of his rift with Podolski in several newspapers, the AP reports.

Both Klose and the German soccer federation (DFB) said his comments had been taken out of context.

The federation said it also backed Podolski in his moves against a parody show on an affiliate of Germany's ARD national broadcaster.