Top contenders make final cuts

LONDON - Germany will bring six strikers to South Africa, but Italy dropped two as some of the leading World Cup contenders made late decisions on their teams Tuesday, hours before the roster deadline.

England dropped Theo Walcott - who made the squad as a teen four years ago - but kept injured Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry, while host South Africa left all-time top scorer Benni McCarthy off its team.

Germany coach Joachim Loew promised to take an attack-minded squad and his only late change was to leave out 23-year-old Hoffenheim defender Andreas Beck. That meant he retained the Bayern Munich trio of Mario Gomez, Miroslav Klose and Thomas Mueller, plus Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kiessling, Köln's Lukas Podolski, and Brazilian-born Stuttgart star Cacau to give him plenty of goal-scoring options.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi, who guided the team to its fourth World Cup triumph in Berlin four years ago, had to cut five players from his squad and opted to leave out New Jersey native Giuseppe Rossi, who has dual citizenship, and Marco Borriello. That leaves him with five forwards - Antonio Di Natale, Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Giampaolo Pazzini, and Fabio Quagliarella - as the Azzurri bid to become the first team to successfully defend the title since Brazil in 1962.

Nine players remain from the team that won the World Cup four years ago in Germany: goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon; defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Cannavaro (rumored to be a transfer target for the Union); midfielders Mauro Camoranesi, Daniele De Rossi, Gennaro Gattuso, and Andrea Pirlo; and forwards Gilardino and Iaquinta.

Four years after former coach Sven-Goran Eriksson took Walcott to the tournament as a 17-year-old but never played him, Fabio Capello decided not to bring the Arsenal winger to South Africa.

Walcott has struggled with injury and form this season. Even with David Beckham out because of a partially torn Achilles tendon, Capello preferred to summon Chelsea's Joe Cole and Manchester City's Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Barry has been sidelined since May 5 with ankle ligament damage and Capello waited until a fitness check Tuesday before deciding to take him. Barry now has 10 more days to get fit for England's first group game, against the United States on June 12.

The other six players to miss out for England were forward Darren Bent; midfielders Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, and Scott Parker; and defenders Michael Dawson and Leighton Baines.

South Africa was widely expected not to include McCarthy.

The 32-year-old striker, who has scored 32 goals in 78 games for his nation, has struggled with fitness and form all season while playing in England for Blackburn and then West Ham. He was one of six players cut by the host country.