Hertha Berlin defender Freidrich dismisses England threat

Hertha Berlin veteran Arne Friedrich insists Germany have nothing to fear from England on Sunday.

Germany's experienced defender says even England's players would accept they've flattered to deceive thus far.

Friedrich: "I don't think England have convinced or impressed anyone, even they would say that. They've not had the best tournament so far, in fact they they've been poor.

"Despite that we know they are perfectly capable of doing something. They can still spark and we have to be ready. If you go through the England line-up man for man, they are probably the favourites. They have more star names in the side compared to us and because of that you'd have to give them a slight advantage.

"We are young, they are experienced - we'll be seeing a meeting of two extremes. But our edge comes from the fact that we're more of a team. 'We're growing together and will get better as the tournament goes on.

"The key to our success is to play with the freedom and lightness that our game has had at times in South Africa. We were a little inhibited against Ghana. 'We can't afford to play at that level again against England, but now we're at the knock-out stage we feel a lot more liberated."