Defensive midfielder Matthias Ginter would be another option. If Hummels fails to recover, Loew could bring in Shkodran Mustafi, who replaced him against the Portuguese. Loew said central defender Mats Hummels is still not 100 per cent fit and could miss Saturday's match after hobbling off against Portugal with a severely bruised thigh. "Look at Italy here, losing to Costa Rica in their second match, and the Netherlands almost losing to Australia. "It's great to win the first match but it's important to continue," Loew told a news conference ahead of Saturday's Group G match. At Euro 2008 they beat Poland in their first outing but then lost to Croatia. They thrashed Australia 4-0 in their first game at the last World Cup before losing to Serbia in their next match. The Germans have a recent habit of starting major tournaments strongly but struggling in their second game. Germany must guard against complacency following their 4-0 demolition of Portugal in their World Cup opener when they face Ghana on Saturday, coach Joachim Loew said. "The main thing is to qualify for the next round, and the round after, and the round after that and do well as a country," he said. Van Persie, suspended for the Chile game after picking up two yellow cards in the first two matches, brushed off talk about becoming the top scorer at the tournament. "We want to secure first place and then we'll see what happens," said the 30-year-old Van Persie. If they come second, they could well end up playing Brazil. If the Dutch win their group they will meet the runners-up in Group A, which looks like being either Mexico or Croatia. It will be very hard to at least draw against them," he said. "I think that four or five players made Spain's life very hard. They looked fit, they look strong, they play together," Van Persie told a news conference. The Dutch, who like the Chileans won their first two games, only need a draw because their goal difference is much better.Ĭhile beat Australia 3-1 and stunned world champions Spain 2-0. Catch the complete coverage of the football World Cup
Chile will pose a real challenge for the Netherlands in their final World Cup Group B match on Monday and the Dutch will have to work hard for the draw they need to finish top, striker Robin van Persie said on Friday.
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