Low: Bring on Australia

Joachim Low says his Germany side is almost ready for the start of the FIFA World Cup againsgt Australia after the 3-1 defeat of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday (AEST).

Captain Philipp Lahm and vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger (with two penalties) were on target in the win which was more convincing than the actual result suggests.

And Low was particularly happy with his side's performance in the second half when it turned round a one-goal deficit into a two-goal victory, leaving Low with little room for improvement before his side facess Australia in its first group game on June 13.

"We just need to do a little fine-tuning," he said on ARD television.

"We have a good team, high spirits and we can play a good tournament.

"There is a lot of potential and we have worked really well."

Germany was transformed in the second half when Thomas Muller and Cacau entered the field for Piotr Trochowski and the particularly disappointing Miroslav Klose.

However, Low has refused to rule Klose out of a starting berth against the Socceroos, even though he scored just three times all last season and has looked short of form in recent weeks.

"Miro just needs match practice," said Low.

"We have 20 outfield players and every single one of them is important."

There was praise for Muller, though, who could oust Trochowski next week.

"There was a lot of good movement from him and he likes to get into the attack," said Low, whose side followed up their 3-0 win in Hungary last weekend with the victory in Frankfurt, leaving it all set for the tournament to commence.

"We want to start well against Australia because we have a tough group, but anything is possible."

Rookie defender Holger Badstuber also shone at fullback in place of Marcell Jansen and he too is an option for Low's first team selection after making his full international debut last night.

And the competition for places is certain to intensify over the coming days.

Low has given his squad two days' off to spend with their families before Sunday's flight to South Africa when the preparations will begin in earnest.

"I am fighting to be part of the team and keep giving it my best," said Cacau.

"We are all really looking forward to it. We are going to relax a little for two days, but then it will really kick off."

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/2010-world-cup/news/1006223/Low-Bring-on-Australia

I hope their flight is long and they have significant jet lag for many days on arrival:lol:

Australia’s Dario Vidosic: Germany’s Confidence Could Be Their Downfall

Dario Vidosic has explained that he feels Germany will underestimate the ability of Australia in their opening World Cup clash in Durban on June 13.

The attacking midfielder plies his trade in the Bundesliga with Nuernberg and feels he is well placed to judge the attitude of the German squad ahead of the fixture, in which the Castrol World Cup predictor believes the Europeans have a 47 per cent chance of winning. Vidosic believes die Mannschaft perceive their opening game to be an easy start, and as a result, he believes the Socceroos have a chance to take advantage.

"There’s been a lot of talk about how well they are going to do among the people in Germany and the expectations are high,” the former Brisbane Roar man told The World Game. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they are actually a little over confident right now going into their match against us.

"We’re happy with that because we rate ourselves pretty highly also and we thrive against teams that maybe think they don’t have to do too much to beat us."

After tackling Germany, Australia then face Ghana and Serbia in what should be a fiercely contested group.


http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=goal-australiasdariovidosicgerma