Beck lays Germany's winning foundations

With an impressive performance against "the best team in the tournament" under their belts, Germany right-back Andreas Beck says his team-mates are brimming with confidence as they gear up to take on Group B underdogs Finland.

'Tournament team' 
A mainstay of the Germany Under-21 ranks since his debut in March 2007, Beck is perhaps better placed than anyone to assess Horst Hrubesch's charges' current standing. And if the disappointment of failing to qualify two years ago for the Netherlands tournament marked the nadir, the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim defender is targeting an apogee in Malmo on 29 June. "I'm convinced about the quality of our team and we now have five matches to go, all like the eventual final," he told uefa.com. "We have a good team, good players and everyone is fit and healthy – we're very confident. Every tournament Germany manage to put together a tournament team, that's a real strength."

Success
Coach Hrubesch did just that last summer in the Czech Republic as he guided the nation to UEFA European Under-19 Championship success, a title that provides "a great background for us" according to Beck. He added: "Our first match was against what I think was the best team in the tournament, Spain, and it was a good match for us and so that's great for our morale. We didn't concede against what was a strong side and that's a positive. We want to act, not react though, both in defence and attack, and dictate the play."

'We must be careful'
The experience of 22 caps at this level – not to mention another three for the senior national side – tell him it may not be so easy, however. "We saw the first half [of Finland against England]," said the Siberian-born 22-year-old. "Finland played well. They have some good players with real ability. They created some opportunities and can play fast, on the counterattack, or use long balls. We must be very careful."