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Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is looking forward to his final Germany match on Wednesday and admits he will miss joining up with his country. Schweinsteiger will wear the captain's armband one more time in the match against Finland before retiring form international football. The 32-year-old is set to win his 121st and final cap for Germany after announcing his retirement from international football earlier this summer. He has featured at a total of seven major tournaments for the national team, and played his last competitive match in the 2016 Euros semifinal against France, where he conceded a penalty late in the first half when playing the ball with his hand. The former Bayern Munich midfielder, however, will be remembered mostly for his contribution in the 2014 World Cup final against Brazil and for leading German football out of a difficult period between the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. During the latter stages of his international career, injuries kept the midfielder out of several friendlies, and stopped him becoming Germany's most-capped player with a total of 175 caps possible. "Sure, there were are few games I could not take part in, but sometimes you just have to rest your body," Schweinsteiger told a news conference prior to his last match. "It's a shame I did not reach that number [of 175 caps] but I am very, very happy about the games I've played." The midfielder won his first cap in a 2-0 defeat against Hungary under then-national team coach Rudi Voller just before Euro 2004, which resulted in a group-stage exit. He remained a household name under boss Jurgen Klinsmann as Germany prepared for the home World Cup in 2006, and he still has fond memories of that time. "I had many nice moments," Schweinsteiger said when asked to look back on his 12 years as a national team player. "Maybe the nicest where those when the fans shared the thrill with us just like at the 2005 Confed Cup or the 2006 World Cup. That always motivated me. And of course, I enjoyed the path to our great title in Brazil. We improved in every tournament, and in the end won the well-deserved title." Ahead of what will be his final match for Germany, Schweinsteiger said that he felt "a deep gratitude" for all the "wonderful years" he had as a national team player. "The camaraderie, the familiar atmosphere. We had a wonderful home World Cup in 206, and won the World Cup in 2014. I became the captain after that," he said. "As a young lad you dream of something like that."
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