‘Argentines up against us at the wrong time’

Germany have won four matches in a row to surge into the last eight and Polish-born forward Klose has been an influential figure scoring four goals to top the scoring charts.“I know the Argentina defenders but I am in great shape at the moment and do not need to be too concerned with them,” Klose declared. “I think I have improved a lot of the last two years. I had targets before the tournament and I have not yet reached them.”

Klose missed both of last year’s friendly games with Argentina – both of which finished 2-2 – and cannot wait to face the two-time World Cup winners at Berlin on Friday. “I am not nervous about facing Argentina. I did not play either of the matches against them last year so I am really looking forward to it,” said the 28-year-old.