Finland out to stop Germany swagger

If confidence was any guide to football results then the journalists present at the press conferences ahead of this meeting may have been tempted to skip their previews and begin work on an ode to German brilliance. Yet as Finland demonstrated in their ultimately disappointing Group B opener against England, the favourites should take nothing for granted.

Winning mentality
The look on Germany coach Horst Hrubesch's face said it all – it was as if the question had been plucked from the murkiest depths of obscurity. "A draw?" he said. "I've not even considered a draw. We're here to win." Fuelled by an impressive showing in the goalless draw with Spain in their UEFA European Under-21 Championship opener, belief is as ever the watchword in the Germany ranks. "You never know how it's going to be before the first match," continued Hrubesch. "We started with confidence against Spain, created chances and the players really found themselves – I'm convinced we can beat Finland and step towards the semi-finals. We have a great blend of team players and individuals able to make the difference at the top level. We're going for the title."

Sadik lift
Few would deny they have a real chance. Yet as the music shops of Halmstad advertise the latest album of one of the town's favourite sons – Per Gessle of Roxette fame – Finland are out to prove there is more than one Party Crasher to contend with. "We will be gunning for all three points and will go on to the pitch with real belief," said Markku Kanerva, that conviction perhaps fuelled by the recovery of star striker Berat Sadik following an ankle problem. "We will have to play at least as well as we did against England, while also cutting out the mistakes that cost us so dear in the end," the 45-year-old continued. "Germany know how to use the ball – we have to make sure they don't get much of it. Germany like to play long balls over the defence – we will need to cut them out."

Almost there
Kanerva is toying with the idea of giving Germany's own back line a bit more to think about by drafting Teemu Pukki into the starting XI following the Sevilla FC forward's eye-catching cameo in the 2-1 defeat by England. He may have provided some clue as the 19-year-old was grouped with Sadik and the Hetemaj brothers – Finland's attacking fulcrum – in Wednesday training, all beaming following a concerted effort from the coaching staff "to get the smiles back on the players' faces" that involved crazy golf, tennis and a spa. "This morning," Kanerva added, "I'm happy to say they reappeared." There were no such problems for Hrubesch, and he is keen to keep it that way. "Finland have a lot of quality," said the 58-year-old, who is likely to bring in Marcel Schmelzer for injured left-back Sebastian Boenisch while a question mark hangs over Mesut Özil after he missed training with a back problem. "The main thing for me is to look at my team. We have one goal: to go through to the semi-finals, and will be almost there after the win tomorrow."