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Germany coach fears Rooney 'explosion'

Wayne Rooney remains a frustrated figure © Getty Images

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Germany coach Joachim Low is relishing a meeting with England in the last 16 of the World Cup after his side topped Group D with a 1-0 win over Ghana, but warned that Wayne Rooney is the man who could "explode" into life after a slow start to the tournament.

Mesut Ozil's goal sealed the win which sets up a clash with Fabio Capello's side in Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon.

Low said: "We are looking forward to taking on England, it's always special for us. There is a great history in the World Cup between England and Germany.

"I've watched England's matches so far, they were struggling in the first two matches but that is quite normal, sometimes you only pick up speed as you go through the tournament. They haven't shown the best of form so far but make no mistake this is a wonderful team. England have have enormous experience so this team is going to be incredibly dangerous.

"Rooney may not have been a big gun so far but he is always ready to explode, he is difficult to mark and control so our defence will need to watch that he doesn't score."

Low was left with a few injury worries ahead of the clash with England, with Ozil, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jerome Boateng all picking up knocks, but he was generally pleased with his side's performance.

He said: "It was a very intense game and on both sides every effort was made to create chances. Ghana is a strong team, they are very skilful and created many dangerous opportunities.

"We have many young players but at the end of the day we took the pressure, came to terms with it and scored in a very decisive moment."

Asked how he thought his young side would now handle the increased pressure of the knockout stages, he said: "I don't think we've got to deal with it in any particular way, we don't have to be afraid of the knockout stages. It is important to remain calm even if we don't find the rhythm that we want straight away.

"All teams have to come to terms with great pressure, even teams with playes experienced in the Champions League. If we'd taken the lead with Ozil's first chance the match might have taken a different direction."

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