Muller: Both teams will be confident going in
THOMAS Muller believes the fact Germany and England both expect to progress adds another interesting ingredient to Tuesday’s eagerlyanticipated Euro 2020 clash.
Joachim Low’s side head to London in the coming days for a mouth-watering last-16 tie in front of more than 40,000 people at Wembley Stadium.
England are fourth in the world rankings after an impressive few years under Gareth Southgate, but they have yet to wholly convince despite topping Group D unbeaten.
Germany have also come in for some flak and ended the so-called group of death with a 2-2 home draw against Hungary, but Muller believes both sides head into the match with similar levels of confidence.
“We are looking forward to the game and to our opponents,” the 2014 World Cup winner said.
“England are always ambitious, but we both played well in our respective groups and have also had to deal with some criticism.
“England drew 0-0 with Scotland while we had hoped to take more than just a 2-2 draw against Hungary.
“This is a knock-out game. Both teams have individual players that can make a difference. I think that both teams have enough confidence to say: ‘It is our turn today – we will win and reach the next round.’ That’s what makes this so interesting.”
Muller, who downplayed concerns over a knee issue, believes staying firm at the back will be key to German success under the arch.
“It will be important for us to keep a clean sheet against England – something we didn’t manage in the group stage,” the Bayern forward said.