Low wary of Algeria

Germany coach Joachim Low has highlighted Algeria’s strength as a collective unit ahead of Monday’s last-16 fixture in Porto Alegre.

The three-time world champions go head-to-head with Algeria at the Estadio Jose Pinheiro Borba and are favourites to reach the quarter-finals for the eighth successive tournament.

And while there is a gulf in individual quality, Low is wary of underestimating a well-balanced Algerian team, who had five different goal scorers as they finished second in Group H behind Belgium.

“We saw that Algeria not only has one important player,” Low told reporters.

“Some of them play in Spain, some in France, some played in youth national teams of France – they are all skilled. You don’t get the feeling that there is one player who stands out, who is the star.

“The team is a unit. Everybody shows extra effort, the striker comes back to defence or a defender goes very fast for the counterattack. The team is very well balanced.”

Algeria have enjoyed relative successive against European opposition in recent years, losing just two games from eight since earning a shock draw with England at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.