

This is a fiery test for the German national team, they haven't been able to prove themselves to bee all that offensive during the group stage. Slovakia has been playing at a high level of competition, this is the perfect chance for them to transcend the tournament. Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik is arguably Slovakia's most dangerous player, German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer warned about his talents.
During a press conference ahead of the game, Neuer said: "Everybody knows how dangerous Hamsik is on shots from distance. He has scored some nice goals from a long distance for Napoli. You always want to keep a clean sheet, but the pressure is a bit higher in the knockout stages. We want to be tight at the back. It all starts with the defence."
The Bayern goalkeeper added: "Slovakia have earned their berth in the round of 16. We are looking for a clear win, but we are at the knock-out stage and anything can happen in one game. We are preparing ourselves for Slovakia - we are not taking them lightly. It is understandable that the fans or media aren't enthused by games like Ukraine or Northern Ireland, they weren't easy games for us. It has been difficult to score goals against teams that park the bus on you."
On Slovakia's side, Weiss told UEFA.com: "Germany have great quality and this will be a very demanding match, but we played them a few weeks back and won on their home ground. This gives us a lot of confidence for this match. Of course it will be a different match, but I think that at the level the competition has now reached, the standard is quite even and I think every team is capable of beating every other team. We very much believe in ourselves, and as I said, the team spirit is great, we will bring everything we have to this match."
"Germany are great in possession, tactics, play beautiful football and we will all have to be 100 per cent ready to at least go toe-to-toe with them. The core of our team has been together for some years now and I think we are playing together better. This is our great advantage at the moment."
Possible lineups:
Germany starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Neuer; Kimmich, Boateng, Hummels, Hector; Khedira, Kroos; Muller, Özil, Draxler; Gotze.
Slovakia starting lineup (4-5-1 formation): Kozacik; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Hubocan; Mak, Kucka, Pecovsky, Hamsik, Weiss; Duda.
Photo credit: Die Mannschaft