Klose claims England lacked heart and desire to beat Germany

Published on Thursday 1 July 2010 00:10

MIROSLAV Klose and his Germany team-mates sensed England "were not up to it" within five minutes of the start of Sunday's World Cup clash.

And the veteran striker, who opened the scoring in the last-16 encounter in Bloemfontein which the Germans went on to win 4-1, claimed England paid the price for not playing as a team.

Bayern Munich team-mate Thomas Muller scored a brace, while the other goal came from Lukas Podolski as the Germans went on to secure their biggest triumph over their old rivals. I think the key factor is presenting yourself as a team, as a unit and I didn't quite have the feeling that this was the case with England," Klose said.

"We thought about these things prior to the game, just what the English team could have achieved. There's the famous 40 years of hurt coming into play here.

"They could have really been the team that ended our World Cup dreams.

"But five, six, seven minutes into the game we sort of realised that 'hey, they're not really up to it and we can beat them today'."

Klose also felt Germany's ability to play as a team was key to the win. He continued: "I think its all down to a certain quality we know we have. You see it everyday in training and as I said many times before, it's crucial to have self belief and present yourself as a true team on the pitch.

"I think that is what really helped in taking the wind out of the English sail. I think we were there as a team and that probably didn't seem to be the case with England."

Joachim Low's team will now play in Argentina in the quarter-finals - a team Klose feels are in a different class to England.

He said: "If you looked at it against England, on paper they were definitely stronger, more renowned and more famous. But it didn't really translate into performance on the pitch, which is where we come in.

"We're just a compact unit and it has proved again that Germany is a 'tournament team', one that gels as the tournament goes on. But we shouldn't compare England with Argentina. I think Argentina really do play in a different league. But I think we are in a position to try and hurt them."

The last time the two sides met a World Cup was four years ago on home soil when the Europeans won 4-2 on penalties at the same stage.

"I think a whole lot has happened in the Argentina camp between 2006 and now. Back then (Lionel) Messi was sitting on the bench, (Gonzalo) Higuain has come into play and it's same as far as the German team as well," Klose said. Even so, if you just look at the names on a one-on-one basis, then Argentina on paper should be considered a stronger side."

On their their coach, Diego Maradona, he added: "What I have seen on TV about Maradona as a player, I clearly don't have enough time to explain.

For news, reports and video from South Africa, visit scotsman.com/worldcup2010

• Play our World Cup predictor As a coach, they all find that he is a fantastic coach and having such a personality on the bench can only be an advantage for Argentina."

Muller has claimed England have "too many chiefs and not enough Indians" to be a successful team.

As the inquest continues into England's dismal showing in South Africa and debate rages over whether Fabio Capello should continue in his job, Germany are preparing for Saturday's quarter-final showdown with Argentina in a state of quiet satisfaction.