Loew: No doubts over Schweinsteiger fitness

Germany manager Joachim Loew has revealed Bastian Schweinsteiger will be fit to face Greece in their Euro 2012 quarter-final clash on Friday.

There had been doubts over the midfielder’s fitness with an ankle injury hampering the Bayern Munich man in recent days.

“Bastian Schweinsteiger will play tomorrow, there’s no question about it,” Loew said at a press conference.

“Yesterday and the day before he didn’t train as long because he had a slight problem with his ankle. Today he could train quite normally.”

Schweinsteiger’s availability means he will probably line up alongside Sami Khedira in the heart of midfield and Loew hailed their partnership.

“The two central midfielders, Khedira and Schweinsteiger, have played very well. They’re very good at connecting defence and attack,” Loew said.

“It’s important to have players like Schweinsteiger and Khedira, the connectors, the symmetry-makers in the game. They can take the tempo out of the game or pick it up.”

Loew said he was wary of the threat posed by Greece and thinks his team must be ruthless in front of goal.

“I think that it will be a very difficult game because the Greeks are very good in defence and are very good on the counter-attack. One thing that we won’t do is underestimate the Greeks,” he said.

“It could be a tight game because the Greeks are not a team that you can rip apart easily. In a quarter-final you have to give every effort. We’ve scored good, nice goals. we’ve also had a lot of chances.

“It’s important against the Greeks to have a killer instinct, to take those chances.”

The former Stuttgart trainer said he anticipates a game very different to the ones experienced at the 2010 World Cup.

“We’re not in test games here or in a qualifier where the opponents play open. Against England and Argentina at the World Cup, we scored early and they had to open up,” Loew said.

“The Greeks will want not to concede, and will take their chances on the counter. But if we score a goal early, it will be an advantage.”