Thomas Muller Germany
Thomas Muller Bayern Munich

Germany take on England in the Round of 16 of the European Championship on Tuesday and Thomas Muller expects it to be a cagey affair.

The Germans were in the group of death alongside Portugal and France but thanks to a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Hungary, they managed to qualify for the knockout stages as the second-placed side.

England though had a much more straightforward group and they won two out of their three matches, thereby finishing as the group toppers.

But, both these sides are yet to hit peak form in the Euros which is why Muller thinks both of them will throw caution to the wind at Wembley.

“We are looking forward to the game and to our opponents,” the German international said, as quoted.

“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.

 

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“It will be important for us to keep a clean sheet against England – something we didn’t manage in the group stage. We will need to be alert when they switch over to attack and try to keep their offence at bay.

“Every one of us will need to have the mindset that it’s possible to narrowly win this game.

“We need to be creative in attack, while also not losing our shape. Having a healthy balance between the two is important in games like this.”

 

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England picked up seven points from the available nine in the group stage and they are yet to concede a single goal in the European Championship. Germany, on the other hand, have conceded five in their first three matches.

So this will obviously be playing in Joachim Low’s mind before he forms his tactics for Tuesday night.

England will also be heavily relying on their defence to come good since the Germans might have conceded five goals but they have also managed to score six. So they know very well how to break down defences.

There’s no way this is going to be a knockout battle in the first 90 minutes and both of them will be more than happy to carry on into extra time and maybe even till penalties.

But, having said that, England will be a bit wary about spot-kicks since Germany will have Manuel Neuer in goal. Historically, Germany and England have played out three draws when they have met in major tournaments but the Germans have progressed in two of these three draws via a penalty shootout.

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