Leipzig, Germany  - Germany defeated minnows Liechtenstein 4-0 on Saturday with efficiency rather than class to maintain a four-point lead in their World Cup qualifying group.

Captain Michael Ballack opened the scoring in the fourth minute, his 40th personal goal and 200th for Germany in World Cup qualifying overall. Marcell Jansen, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski got the other goals.

Germany top Group 4 with 13 points from five games ahead of Russia, who have nine from four games. Only the group winner qualifies directly for the 2010 finals in South Africa.

Leipzig, Germany  - Germany can expect a goal rush against minnows Liechtenstein but striker Mario Gomez warned Friday against speculating about the score.

The Germans go into the Group 4 World Cup qualifier in Leipzig on Saturday knowing their only three previous matches against Liechtenstein have garnered 23 goals.

Six months ago in Vaduz, Germany ran out 6-0 winners and should be good for another clear victory before meeting Wales in Cardiff on Wednesday.

Gomez, who has not scored for Germany in a year, starts in the absence of the injured Miroslav Klose to partner Bayern Munich's Lukas Podolski, who bagged a brace in Vaduz.

Leipzig, Germany - Robert Enke will earn his fifth cap for Germany in goal in Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein in Leipzig, coach Joachim Loew said Thursday.

The 31-year-old Hanover keeper returned to the squad after breaking his thumb last autumn. His last match for Germany was the 3-3 draw against Group 4 opponents Finland in Helsinki on September 10.

VfB Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez will also start the game up front, Loew confirmed.

Leipzig, Germany  - Germany coach Joachim Loew tested the fitness of his players and called for all-round improvement Tuesday ahead of World Cup qualifiers.

The tests in Leipzig come after two home defeats to England and Norway and some 18 months after the Germany squad took part in a similar fitness check.

"This is a stocktaking a year before the World Cup in South Africa," Loew said of the tests which among other things included sprint, stamina and reaction checks.

Leipzig, Germany - Furniture designs from the short but fruitful career of Joe Colombo (1930-71) are the focus of a special exhibition to open April 3 at the Grassi Museum in Leipzig, Germany.

The Italian was initially a painter and sculptor, coming late to design, only to die of heart failure on his 41st birthday, but he is famed for the Boby Trolley, a small chest of swing-out drawers on five castors which can be easily moved around office desks.

Lei