BERLIN: Germany took target practice on Wednesday ahead of its quarterfinal clash against Argentina — with a bow and arrow.

``It's good practice for concentration and it's fun,'' assistant coach Joachim Loew said.

The players will need to concentrate to have any hopes of beating the favoured Argentines. Although no official practice was scheduled for Wednesday, most players trained on their own in the team's fitness room — and archery was one of the diversions offered by coaching staff.

The players will spend the next two days studying Argentina's tactics. ``We have plenty of information on the Argentine team and many of their players are based in Europe anyway,'' Loew said.

Loew is head coach Jurgen Klinsmann's chief game plan creator and often speaks on tactics two days before a match.

``We are not nervous, we've fuelled up on self-confidence over the previous four games,'' Loew said.

Germany, seeking its fourth World Cup title, has won its first four matches and has not conceded a goal in the past three, while scoring a total of 10.

``They have a lot of strengths, we know what our strengths are. We think we can beat them,'' Loew said.

Loew conceded that Argentina's fast and crafty strikers may be a problem for Germany's tall and less mobile central defenders.

``We should start getting on their nerves in midfield, we must cut the lanes for their passing, our defending has to start with our forwards,'' Loew said.

``And our defence has improved dramatically, their understanding is now very good.''

Leading scorer

On the other hand, striker Miroslav Klose, who leads the tournament with four goals, should dominate the air in front of the Argentina goal and captain Michael Ballack is renowned for powerful headers.

The Germans are likely to try and check the Argentines early, before the South Americans can develop their vaunted smooth-passing game, giving Ballack and fellow midfielder Torsten Frings important roles.

Ballack had a swollen ankle but Loew said the captain will be ready for Friday's game.

Germany and Argentina have played twice in World Cup finals. Diego Maradona led Argentina to a 3-2 win in Mexico City in 1986, but cried four years later when Germany won 1-0 on a penalty from Andreas Brehme in Rome.

The two nations also met twice last year, both times in Germany, and the games ended in 2-2 draws.

``We came very close to beating them both times,'' Loew said. ``That was one year ago and now we know that we can play our own game. That gives us courage and confidence for Friday's match.

``It's unfortunate that this match-up comes now, if you beat Argentina, you've eliminated a very high quality team from the tournament. They have great technical skill, they combine well, they are experienced, they play good transition and they have the deepest bench.'' — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail