The 38 year old, who has just signed for VfB Stuttgart after losing his place in the Arsenal team, won his 61st cap during Euro 2008 as Germany lost to Spain in the final, but he is refusing to rule out playing on. The veteran had been widely expected to announce his international retirement after the European Championships and with Germany’s World Cup qualifiers getting underway on September 6, clarity is needed in the German camp.
"I will discuss this issue in the near future with coach Joachim Löw, but I can live with the speculation" said Lehmann.
"Which player between the age of 18 and 40 can predict whether they will still be playing as well in two years anyway?
"I would even be prepared to sit on the bench at a World Cup. I would never say never. We will have to see what happens after this year."
Lehmann had been under pressure before Euro 2008 having not played a great deal of football for Arsenal after Manuel Almunia became the first choice at the Emirates.
Germany also has two highly promising youngsters coming through in Manuel Neuer (Schalke) and Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen). Timo Hildebrand and Robert Enke are also knocking on the door to be considered the German number one, although Hildebrand was surprisingly dropped from the Euro 2008 squad.
Mathew Burt (goal.com)
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