On 19 May 2009, Cacau was called up by the German national team's coach Joachim Löw for their friendly matches against China and the United Arab Emirates. He made his international debut on 29 May 2009 in Germany's 1–1 draw against China, playing 27 minutes as a substitute for Mario Gómez. He also appeared in Germany's 7–2 win against the UAE four days later, playing the entire second half as a substitute for Lukas Podolski and providing an assist for Mario Gómez's third and Germany's fifth goal of the match just over a minute into the second half. He opened his account with the German national team, scoring a brace in a 3–0 win over Malta on 13 May 2010. He scored his first International goal for Germany in the group stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on 13 June 2010, coming on as a substitute against Australia, and scoring in 1:52 to make it 4–0. He later received a yellow card for diving in the match. After Miroslav Klose had been sent off against Serbia, Cacau played against Ghana but could not score in the 1–0 win. In the third-place World Cup game, Germany faced Uruguay on 10 July. He started for his German side but was eventually substituted out as Germany defeated Uruguay 3–2, taking third place at the World Cup.