Update: 7:00AM BROTHERLY love will be forgotten on Saturday when Germany’s Jerome Boateng faces his sibling once more at a World Cup, with Ghanas Kevin-Prince Boateng predicting a fight to the death.
The half brothers were both born in Berlin to separate mothers, but in 2009, Schalkes Kevin-Prince, 27, opted to play for the country of his father.
He turned to Ghana having become discouraged by a perceived lack of opportunities even after the brothers had made a single appearance in the same Germany Under-21 team.
The brothers normally have daily contact via SMS or telephone, but there has been radio silence as they prepare for the Fortaleza clash in Group G.
“We’ve had no contact recently, each of us is just concentrating on himself,” said Bayern Munichs Jerome Boateng.
The 25-year-old will face Ghana with a splint on his right hand having torn a thumb ligament in Germanys opening 4-0 win over Portugal.
This is not the first time the brothers have played each other at a World Cup.
In South Africa in 2010, they set a record by becoming the first brothers to play against each other at a World Cup finals.
A nervous Germany needed Mesut Ozils second-half goal to seal a 1-0 win over Ghana in Johannesburg after a shock defeat to Serbia as both sides reached the knockout stages.
Four years on, Germany are looking to maintain their grip on the group after hammering Portugal, but Kevin-Prince has turned up the heat on the tie.
“It’s like in ancient Rome. There will be people around the pitch who want to see how two teams fight,” the Schalke 04 star told German magazine Sport Bild.
“The team who wants it more will win and we will fight to the death against Germany.”
The brothers hail from the tough Berlin district of Wedding and neither are short of confidence, but Kevin-Prince attracts attention.
As a seven-year-old, he successfully played a game for a place in Hertha Berlins young section in rubber Wellington boots as they were his favourite shoes at the time.
And in an interview with German football magazine 11Freunde, Boateng was once happy to admit: “Yes, I am the best footballer in the world”.
