Klinsmann: I have nothing to prove against Germany

Jurgen Klinsmann insists he has nothing to prove ahead of the United States’ FIFA World Cup clash with Germany on Thursday.

The former Germany striker, who coached the his country between 2004 and 2006, will come up against his former employers in their final Group G clash.

Four points from their fixtures against Ghana and Portugal have given the USA a strong chance of progressing to the last 16 in Klinsmann’s first World Cup at the helm.

And the former Bayern Munich coach is focused on the task at hand rather than getting one over his homeland.

“We are going to approach it with a lot of determination and in a very focused way, we want to be very aggressive and we want to give Germany a real battle,” he said on Wednesday.

“I, personally, have nothing to prove. I enjoy my work with the United States tremendously, I enjoyed my job with Germany and I also enjoyed my year with Bayern Munich.

“We’ve been waiting for this game for a long time. It’s massive. We want to continue the way we started the tournament.

“This World Cup is full of surprises (and) we want to be one of those surprises.

“We did our homework. We are by no means an underdog in this tournament.”

With Germany also on four points, a draw would guarantee a place in the last 16 for both sides.

Klinsmann must do without Jozy Altidore once again in Recife, but revealed that the injured striker is making good progress in his recovery from a hamstring injury.

“Jozy is recovering really well,” he said.

“He’s doing a tremendous job there. Our medical staff is on top of it. This game comes still too early for him.”