Coach Joachim Loew has said he wants Germany to show a "killer instinct" and take their chances against tough-tackling Greece in Friday's Euro 2012 quarter-final. Having inflicted a shock 1-0 defeat on Russia last Saturday, Greece come to Arena Gdansk as Group A runners-up with a reputation for tough defending and effective counter-attacking football as they look to claim the Germans' scalp.
The Germans - who are seeking their first trophy in 16 years - are the only team with a 100 percent record, having also breezed through the qualifying rounds with 10 wins from 10 games, but Greece are eager to tear up the form book. Having conceded an equaliser to Denmark in Sunday's final group game, the Germans needed an 88th-minute winner to seal a 2-1 victory and Loew has said his team must take their chances and learn from the Danish game.
"It will be a very tight match, because the Greeks aren't a team that you can rip apart easily," said the 52-year-old after his team beat Portugal, Holland and Denmark in Group B. "For a quarter-final, you have to fight for everything. "If we run a lot and play at a high tempo, we will get our chances in the last third of the pitch.
"Against Denmark, we had a few chances, but didn't take them, which caused us a few problems, so against the Greeks it is very important to have a killer instinct. "We will be hitting a rock and they will be strong in defence, but we will find ways to create chances." Loew said he expects Fernando Santos' team to hit the Germans hard on the break and pack their defence around the penalty area.
"I think the Greeks will not want to concede and will take their chances on the counter-attack, but our chances will come if we take an early lead," said the Germany coach. "Sometimes we have to play with pressure, but there will be times when there will be 10 players packed around the penalty area. "We have to have a bit of patience to get those chances."
Having finished second at Euro 2008 and finished third at the last two World Cups, Germany are considered one of the favourites to win the Kiev final, but Loew insists the 'favourites' tag is null and void in the knock-out phase. "The knock-out games have their own character and it doesn't mean the favourite goes through automatically to the next round, he said.
"We thought the Russians were the big favourites against the Greeks, but we all saw what happened there. "I think when the match starts, what anyone has said or written doesn't play a role. "If we play to our strengths, keep faith in our own quality and play our own game, then we are strong enough to beat the Greeks.
Comments
Comments are closed.