The Germany head coach warns his players against complacency and calls for focus ahead of the mouth watering encounter.
Germany won their opening fixture of the ‘Group of Death’ by beating Portugal 1-0. Joachim Low’s men will be looking to cement their place in the next round of the European Championship.
Die Mannschaft face Netherlands in their second fixture of the tournament, the Dutch lost their opening fixture to a lively Danish side. Morten Olsen’s men managed to spring the first surprise of the tournament.
Despite getting the beat against Denmark, Low refuses to dismiss the threat Bert van Marwijk’s team possess. In his opinion Oranje are a world class side and have been for a long time. They have some of the best players of the
world in their ranks. With their style of play the Dutch are capable of beating any side on their day.
"Everyone knows Holland is a team that is at the top level in the world and has been for many years with their quality and the way they play. They have world class players who, on their own or combined, can decide games," he is
quoted as saying in an interview.
Ahead of the big match, Die Nationalelf head coach gives his take on the infamous football rivalry between his country and Holland. He thinks the rivalry is not as violent or intense as it used to be. Now the tensions have eased
up and the players know each other well which has in turn developed this political rivalry into a healthy football rivalry.
"From that point of view there's a huge rivalry, but I can't say anything about phrases like ‘football is war’. A lot of Netherlands players play in Germany. The relationship between the players is good, there's a really good,
healthy rivalry,” he added.
The last time these two nations met in a competitive match was in the group stages of the 2004 European Championship, the sides could not be separated as Van Nistelrooy cancelled out Frings’ 30th minute opener.
This time around they are more evenly matched than ever as Germany’s superior defence will be matched by Netherlands’ attacking prowess.
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