With Michael Ballack set to sit out the opening match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, Bastian Schweinsteiger will be expected to shoulder an even greater burden of creative responsibility as the hosts lock horns with Costa Rica.

Fortunately for Germany, the talented young Bayern Munich midfielder is heading into the tournament in fine form and confident mood after excelling in each of his team's most recent friendlies: a 2-2 draw with Japan in which he scored the equaliser, followed by an impressive 3-0 win over Colombia that saw him smash home a 30-yard free-kick.

It certainly says much for the ease with which Schweinsteiger has adapted to international football that, at 21, he has already accrued 28 senior caps and starred at two major tournaments in the shape of UEFA EURO 2004 and last year's FIFA Confederations Cup.

Now, with Germany 2006 finally upon us, his is deservedly among the first names on Jurgen Klinsmann's teamsheet and, whether playing wide on either flank or in his preferred position behind the strikers, the youngster is evidently confident of making an impact on the world stage.

"I have freedom to go forward and it is a lot of fun," the Bayern star said earlier this week. "I do have to come back defensively but I am more attack-orientated and I like that."

Schweinsteiger is also likely to feel particularly at home in Friday's eagerly-awaited curtain-raiser given that it is being staged in Munich and, far from interpreting this as heaping further pressure on his young shoulders, the 21-year-old insists that he could hardly be more relaxed.

"It will be nice playing on my club ground," he said. "A lot of people are talking about pressure. To be honest, I do not feel pressure. I am just looking forward to the game."

The thrill of kicking off his first FIFA World Cup campaign in front of a passionate Munich crowd is sure to stir Schweinsteiger's emotions and, here, he also has the considerable honour of beginning an exciting and exclusive new series on FIFAworldcup.com series which sees the game's biggest stars select their adidas +10 dream teams.

Bastian Schweinsteiger's adidas +10 team:

First of all, I would have Markus Grunberger as my goalie. He and I used to play together for quite a long time in Bayern's reserve team and I would prefer having him in goal to anyone else.

My left-back, believe it or not, would be Michael Rensing. Although he is an excellent goalkeeper and number two at Bayern to Oliver Kahn, he is also a very good outfield player. When we have old versus young games in training at Bayern, it is great fun playing with him.

For the centre-back positions, I would pick Lucio and Alessandro Nesta. Lucio is obviously another one of my team-mates at Bayern and I know him very well, while Nesta has shown for Milan and Italy that he is really hard to play against. They are superb in the air and I consider both to be great defenders.

My right-back has to be Willy Sagnol because he is a superb and very professional player. I personally think that many other players underestimate him, but I can tell you that he is a much stronger player than many people think.

In central midfield, Patrick Vieira would be the perfect man to start with. He is so strong that having him in your team is like having two players in one. He is also very experienced at the top level and would be able to provide great support for the rest of the players.

Alongside Vieira, I would have another Frenchman, Zinedine Zidane, the best midfielder in the world without any doubt. It would be magnificent to play in the same team with him, a real honour.

The right midfielder would definitely have to be David Beckham. He is a superb crosser of the ball who can decide a game with a set-piece and it would be fantastic to have him in my +10 team. He is also such a cool personality.

For the first of my strikers, I really can't choose between Lukas Podolski and Roy Makaay.

Roy, of course, is a superb finisher with a magnificent record in front of goal, but I'm sure Lukas will one day be just as great as Roy is just now. At a young age, he is already well up there with the best and I am sure that he will make it all the way to the top.

To complete my perfect team, I would choose my brother Tobias. It is a dream of mine to play alongside him in the Bundesliga and I believe it will happen one day. He has been playing in the German third division with VfB Lubeck for a while but I really believe that he will manage to get up to the top league, hopefully to play alongside me one day.