Germans see Gerrard as a danger

Rudi Voller, Germany's coach, has pinpointed Steven Gerrard as the man most likely to ruin his country's World Cup aspirations if anyone can.

Although the England captain, David Beckham, will almost certainly play tonight, Völler has hinted that he sees Gerrard as the biggest danger. England have won every game the Liverpool midfielder has played in and he is a certain starter.

"One player we must not underestimate is Gerrard," Völler said. "We have to keep an eye on him and not give him any room to do us harm. He is a good player."

The Bayern Munich striker Carsten Jancker downplayed any talk of hyping up individual players, saying: "It is not important how we play individually because we have to win this game as a team. We don't have to worry about single players. We have a stronger team and that is what counts."

For Völler, should Germany win today it will mark the end of his apprenticeship. "I won't really feel like I'm the coach until we clinch a berth in the World Cup – that means beating England," he said.