Euro 2020: 'Crazy to write off Germany' - Jurgen Klopp backs Germany to surprise England in Round of 16 tie at Wembley

ByCoral Barry

Updated 27/06/2021 at 14:52 GMT

Jurgen Klopp insists Germany are capable of springing a shock against England in their last-16 tie at Wembley. Many are considering England favourites to reach the quarter-finals after Germany ran hot and cold in the group stages. “We struggled against Hungary, yes. But nothing more happened. Sometimes as a team you need such a game," Klopp said.

Jurgen Klopp has warned England it would be ‘crazy’ to write off Germany as serious Euro 2020 contenders ahead of their last-16 tie on Tuesday.

Germany were hot and cold during the group stages, smashing Portugal 4-2 but only scrapping through to the knockout stages via a late draw with Hungary in the final group game.

England appear confident they can beat Germany at Wembley, but Liverpool boss Klopp believes the Germans will be hugely improved from the Hungary match.

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“To write off Germany now, it would be crazy,” he told Bild.

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“We played well against France, Portugal we dominated like hardly any other opponent in recent years.

We struggled against Hungary, yes. But nothing more happened. Sometimes as a team you need such a game.

“And now we’re going to make a real go of it on Tuesday.”

Jordan Henderson is also wary of Germany despite their recent woes. The Liverpool skipper will be hoping to start against the Germans after watching much of Euro 2020 from the sidelines due to injury.

“It would mean everything to us to get into the next round of the tournament,” he said.

“To beat Germany as well, is special because it’s always a big game. It would mean everything as a squad to be able to progress.

“We’ll look forward to the game and all we can do is give absolutely everything we’ve got on Tuesday and hopefully that’s enough to win.

It’s exciting. It’s a huge game and one we’ll be looking forward to. We knew whatever team we faced would be a big challenge and Germany will certainly be that. We need to prepare well and give everything against them.

“A lot of these lads just go out and play, enjoy the game, play with no fear. And that’s what they need to do again on Tuesday.

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“Go and enjoy it, go and show everybody how good they are. Use the emotion and passion in the right way to give you energy for the game, because that can be the difference really.

“As an experienced player I can help with that and make sure we’re in the right frame of mind going into the game and make sure training’s at the level it needs to be over the next few days to prepare for that one.

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“Everybody’s confident, everybody’s feeling good and we’ve got a good few days to prepare for a huge game.

“But a lot of the lads have played in huge games already: Champions League finals, Champions League games, cup finals, big games for England. They’re used to big games even though they’re young and I’m sure they’re looking forward to this one.”

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