Germany wary of second-game glitches
Reuters - Tuesday 12 June 2012, 08:22
Germany's second group game
defeats in the past two tournaments should act as a warning when
they face Netherlands in their Euro 2012 Group B match on
Wednesday in Kharkiv, team manager Oliver Bierhoff said on
Tuesday.
The Germans, among the title favourites, go into the game on
the back of a 1-0 win over Portugal with the Dutch having their
backs to the wall following a surprise loss to Denmark by the
same score.
Defeats by Croatia and Serbia in the Euro 2008 and 2010
World Cup respectively put Germany in a tight spot going into
their final group games at those events and the three-time
European champions are eager to avoid a repeat scenario.
"I hope that after the second game this time it will be
different and that we come out as winners," the former Germany
international told reporters ahead of the team's departure to
Kharkiv.
"In the third game we were then under pressure against
seemingly weaker opponents like Austria (2008) and Ghana
(2010)."
Germany breezed past Netherlands 3-0 in a friendly in
November but Bierhoff warned Wednesday's clash would be a
completely different affair.
"We should not see that game as a standard. We would be
crazy to think that this game will be anything like that. It
will be a much more physical game," he said.
"They were missing two or three players then. Now it will be
a much tougher game because they are under pressure to win."
"But if everything comes together for us we can win this
game. We have said we want to beat the Dutch and that has not
changed."
Germany play their final group game against Denmark in Lviv
on Sunday.