Boateng Brothers Make History

Kevin-Prince Boateng and his half-brother Jerome Boateng added their names to football history last night when they became the first siblings to feature in opposing teams at a World Cup.

Kevin-Prince turned out for Ghana on Wednesday, giving a polished midfield performance while Jerome started at leftback for Germany as he made his debut before being pulled out later in the game.

Though Kevin-Prince, who was born in Germany to a Germany mother and Ghanaian father, did duty for Germany in junior international football he switched to Ghana in search of international opportunities.

Jerome has stuck with Germany with so much passion that after the foul that Kevin-Prince, who plays for Portsmouth, committed on Michael Ballack in the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Portsmouth in May, Jerome decided to break off contact with his half brother.

The Germans were expected to give Kevin-Prince a hostile reception but the stocky midfielder just focused on his game and the match went off without incident.

"Kevin-Prince played very well for us and was fantastic. I think his performance was excellent. It was important that he kept his cool today and I saw the Germans were polite with him. He had to avoid cautions today because we will rely on him in the next round," says Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac of the 23 year-old.

His German counterpart Joachim Loew took the surprising decision of throwing in Jerome straight in for his first international match and although he ended up substituting the new Manchester City signing he has defended his decision.

"I saw that Ghana have very fast forwards who are not only technical but also skillful. This is why I had to use Boateng because he is also as extremely fast in the first 15 minutes, like the Ghanaian strikers. I didn't expect him to contribute anything going forward because I wanted him for a specific role in defence," says Loew.