Michael Ballack believes England are in the driving seat ahead of their upcoming European Championship round of 16 clash against Germany.
The former Bayern Munich and Chelsea midfielder, who made 98 appearances for Germany during an eleven-year international career, has delivered a scathing assessment of Joachim Low's side.
Ballack's brutally honest verdict comes after they squeezed through the group stages with a 2-2 draw against Hungary.
It was a nervy night for Low and his side. At one stage, they were bottom of Group F after going behind twice. But goals from Kai Havertz and Leon Goretzka eventually sealed their place in the round of 16.
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Ballack has since opened up about Germany's chances against the Three Lions at Wembley on Tuesday night.
"We always find it difficult when we play against countries who are mentally strong and good in one-on-one duels," he said via The Sun.
"We have some lads who possess these characteristics - but not enough of them.
"Unfortunately we have too many players who have not learned how to be flexible during matches. They are pushed to their limits in difficult situations when they need to win using other means than those originally planned."
It didn't stop there for Ballack, who went on to aim a dig at Germany boss Low.
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"I generally think it a good thing if someone pushes through with their ideas if they are convinced with them," he added.
"But I have the impression with Jogi Low that he only makes things right if people outside the national team talk about making changes.
"He shouldn't take offence or see it as a setback if he sometimes has to alter things."
Germany full-back Joshua Kimmich, meanwhile, is confident ahead of their highly-anticipated European Championship clash - and has claimed "there are worse matches" than England.
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To his credit, the defender was quick to dismantle their lacklustre performance against Hungary after the full-time whistle before later pointing out how they could improve against England.
"We didn't press Hungary very well, so there are a lot of things we need to improve," said the 26-year-old during a recent press conference.
"We had difficulties creating opportunities, we didn't manage to get behind the defensive line and weren't positioned very well when losing the ball.
"We gave Hungary too many free spaces, the same mistakes we made against France and Portugal.
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"Hungary played exactly how we expected, we just did a bad job off the ball. This is not what we want to show, especially off the ball, but also in possession."
Kimmich continued, saying: "We didn't have good ideas, we didn't focus enough to win back the ball quickly, to force the opposition to make mistakes.
"We weren't well-positioned or well-structured, we didn't manage to do that at all, so that made it difficult for us and we couldn't be a real threat.
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"But it's going to be a totally different match against England, a totally different opponent who will play in a totally different system.
"There are worse games to play than England at Wembley. I think we can make it and be successful."
Thoughts on Ballack's assessment of the current Germany squad? Can they beat Gareth Southgate's side at Wembley on Tuesday night?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: PA
