Germany beat Malta 3-0 in the first friendly leading up to the World Cup this summer in South Africa.

Over 27,000 fans turned up to watch the match at Tivoli stadium in Aachen, where Brazillian-born Cacau led the German side to victory with two goals, one each side of the break.

Germany were missing 12 key players, including their captain, Michael Ballack, and several players from Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen, which are involved in Saturday's German Cup final.

Missed opportunities

Despite the win, Germany's head coach Joachim Loew was not entirely pleased with the performance.

"We scored too few goals," Loew told reporters after the game. "We played well, created chances and that was positive, but we squandered too many of them."

Germany's third tally was an own goal by Malta's Kenneth Scicluna, who accidently directed the ball into his own net.

The national team's next international friendly is scheduled for May 29th against Hungary in Budapest.

smh/SID/Reuters
Editor: Chuck Penfold