Klose: Argentina a class above England
Reuters - Monday 28 June 2010, 13:42
ERASMIA - Quarter-final
opponents Argentina are in a different league to an England side
who were just not up for their last 16 clash, Germany's Miroslav
Klose said on Monday.
The striker netted the opener in the 4-1 thrashing of
England on Sunday but expects a much tougher test in the last
eight in Cape Town on Saturday.
"We shouldn't compare Argentina with England. Argentina are
in another league," Klose, at 32 the elder statesman in a young
Germany team, told a news conference.
"The key factor is presenting yourself as a team, as a unit,
and I didn't really think this was the case with England. We
realised six or seven minutes in that maybe they were not really
up for it and we could beat them."
Germany beating Argentina on penalties at the same stage of
the 2006 tournament is one positive omen for Klose and co but
the fact the mercurial Lionel Messi has yet to score in South
Africa despite his good displays might not bode quite as well.
"I think a lot has changed with Argentina, the same is true
with Germany. In 2006 Messi was sitting on the bench," added
Klose, who has scored 50 goals for his country and will pick up
his 100th cap against Diego Maradona's men.
"If you look at the names on a case-by-case basis, Argentina
should been seen as stronger on paper. It was the same with
England, on paper they were more renowned and famous, but it
didn't happen on the pitch. Germany are a 'tournament team'."
Coach Joachim Low has allowed his side to take a day off
and go on a safari or spend time with family.
"It is always an enriching experience to get away from it,
to unwind. We deserve to be given free rein for a few hours and
then we can concentrate on Argentina," said midfielder Sami
Khedira.
After an early training session and media commitments the
players were free to do as they pleased until late on Tuesday
but Khedira still had images of Messi running rings around his
club side VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League last term.
"There's no way you can contain this guy for 90 minutes. It
will have to be a collective effort to keep him at bay. Other
than Messi they have other great players but there's no reason
to hide. We do have a chance against Argentina," he said.
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