Germany v Croatia team news

Germany will battle it out with Croatia tomorrow night in the race to finish at the top of Group B. With Portugal winning winning their first two matches comfortably – 2-0 against Turkey in their opening match and 3-1 against the Czechs this evening – both teams will surely want to avoid a quarter final tie versus Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side.

Germany are expected to stick with the side that defeated Poland by two goals to nil in Klagenfurt on Sunday night. German Coach Joachim told the official Germany website:

“We have leaders such as Ballack, Frings, Metzelder, Lehmann and Klose on the team. But our role-players, the guys on the bench, contribute just as well. When I saw them following the Poland game, going to the fans as one team, I really thought they handled that well. Competition during practices is still fierce. Our substitutes are constantly challenging the starters.”Klagenfurt will again be the venue when the Germans take on Croatia, who, like the Germans, have a full squad to choose from after playmaker Luka Modric recovered from an ankle knock picked up during their opening match against Austria.