Germany ready for France test, says Schurrle

Andre Schurrle is aware of the individual qualities that France possesses but talked up Germany’s strengths ahead of Friday’s showdown.

Germany will square-off against France at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro with a spot in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals up for grabs.

France have impressed throughout the tournament thus far, topping Group E and scoring 10 goals en route to the quarter-finals.

While France coach Didier Deschamps is able to call upon some of the world’s best players, German winger Schurrle – scorer of the opening goal in Germany’s 2-1 win over Algeria in the last-16 – was quick to warn of his side’s quality as they attempt to reach their fourth consecutive World Cup semi.

Germany lost to Brazil in the 2002 final and suffered back-to-back last-four defeats in 2006 and 2010.

The Germans have also secured semi-final berths at the past two European Championships in 2008 and 2012.

“France have some fantastic individual players like [Paul] Pogba, [Karim] Benzema and [Mathieu] Valbuena,” the 23-year-old Chelsea player told FIFA.com.

“They have a lot of quality and can create goals from any situation. We know their strengths, but we also know ours.”

Schurrle added: “It’s a childhood dream to be at a World Cup here in Brazil. Now we’ve got to show what we’re made of against France in the quarter-final.

“Anyone would love to be part of a match like that.”