Germans eager to tame vibrant Messi

Less than 24 hours after their stunning 4-1 win over England, Germany were already planning for Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against Argentina – and how to contain Lionel Messi.

Germany hammered England in Bloemfontein on Sunday with goals by Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and two second-half strikes from midfielder Thomas Mueller in the Round of 16 match to book their last eight berth.

Now they take on Diego Maradona’s Argentina in Cape Town on Saturday and according to midfielder Sami Khedira, the key will be to contain Messi, the world footballer of the year and Argentina’s talisman.

“Messi is a difficult player to play against, if not the best in the world, there is no way one player can keep him at bay for the full 90 minutes,” he said after Messi helped his side to a 3-1 win over Mexico in their last 16 match.

“It will be a team effort and we may have to put several players on him.

“Having said that we have nothing to fear and we have a good chance of beating Argentina.”

Veteran German striker Miroslav Klose, who scored his 50th goal on his 99th appearance for the national side against England, said the young side are reaping the rewards from playing as a unit.

“If you look at the two sides, you have to say Argentina look stronger on paper, but the same went for England, they were better known and are more famous than us, but that wasn’t reflected on the pitch,” said the 32-year-old.

“We were compact and have proven again that we are a ‘tournament team’ and we can raise our game.

“Argentina are a class up from England, but we can hurt them with our tactics and we have to believe in ourselves.”

The game is already being touted as a revenge match for Argentina who lost 4-2 on penalties to Germany at the quarter-final stage four years ago at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

Klose scored the 80th-minute equaliser to make it 1-1 after 90 minutes, but says he has yet to discuss the game with the squad’s younger players.

“Not yet, it is early days, but many players followed the World Cup in Germany,” said Klose.

“We have heard all these comments that Argentina are dying to beat us and see this as a revenge match.

“But this team should be able to hold their own against Argentina.

“It is hard to compare, I think a whole lot has happened in their team since then.

“Messi was on the bench in 2006, (Real Madrid’s Gonzalo) Higuain had just come into the team.”

The current Germany team has an average age of just under 25, but Klose says the experience gained by rising stars like 20-year-old Mueller and 21-year-old Khedira will only put them in good step.

Germany – who as West Germany appeared in two successive finals against Argentina and present coach Diego Maradona when he was a player losing in 1986 and then beating the South Americans in 1990 – are bidding to win their fourth World Cup and last appeared in the final in 2002 where they lost to Brazi.

“In 2002, we had a very mature side, this time we have a really young squad, but I am happy for them as this all adds a wealth of knowledge to their CV,” said the Bayern Munich star.

“They will still be active in eight years time, they can only learn from this.”