Pretoria - German coach Joachim Loew says his young players are ready to face England in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup at Bloemfontein's Vodacom Park Stadium on Sunday.
Speaking at the team's base camp in Erasmia today, Loew said he had the utmost respect for the English side which has experienced players such as Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrad and Frank Lampard.
"We've got a lot of respect for the English team because they have experienced players, but we are also looking forward to this crucial match. I am not feeling any burden of facing England. We are just waiting for the day to come so that we can show them what we are made of," he said.
Defender, Philipp Lahm, shared his coach's sentiments. "We know that this is not going to be an easy match, but we are ready and I believe that will cause more problems for our opponents," he said.
However, the 26 -year-old German skipper said even if the match ends in a draw, he is confident that they will continue with their record of beating England on penalty shoot-outs.
When the two teams clashed in the 1990 FIFA World Cup and Euro finals in 1996, it was the Germans who emerged victorious through penalty shoot-outs.
The Germans advanced to the last 16 after defeating group D runners-up Ghana 1-nil on Wednesday night.
The Group D winners only lost 1-nil to Serbia, winning two matches and they finished the group stage with six points, followed by Ghana with four points.
England drew 1-1 with the USA in their Group C opening match in Rustenburg, before they were held to a goalless draw by Algeria at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.
England advanced to the last 16 after they beat Slovenia 1-nil at the Nelson Mandela Bay on Wednesday afternoon.
The Black Stars of Ghana will be looking for a win when they face the United States in another last 16 knock-out match on Saturday.
The African hopefuls finished Group D in second place ahead of Australia on goal difference.
When the two teams locked horns in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Ghana beat the USA on the last day of group matches 2-1 to eliminate the Americans from the tournament and progressed into the Round of 16 in their first World Cup appearance.
