Germany have promised that their attack will pack a bigger punch when they face Northern Ireland on Tuesday after struggling up front in their first two Euro 2016 matches.
The Germans will definitely go through to the tournament's last 16 with a win or a draw in their final Group C game but they will need to be more clinical in front of goal, having scored just twice in their two matches so far.
Neither goal in the 2-0 opening win over Ukraine came from a forward with central defender Shkodran Mustafi and holding midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger on target.
Germany followed that up with a goalless draw against Poland.
Germany already have four points - which is likely to be enough to take them through to the last 16. They will guarantee progression to the knock-out stage if they avoid defeat.
Northern Ireland are brimming with confidence after beating Ukraine 2-0 to notch their first win in a major tournament in 34 years, following a defeat by Poland in their opener
Goals from Gareth McAuley and Niall McGinn against Ukraine ended their long wait for a tournament victory that stretched back to the 1982 World Cup, when Gerry Armstrong's low finish famously downed hosts Spain.
Northern Ireland may not be able to match their upcoming opponents for class but they have so far demonstrated their credentials for concealing weaknesses and maximising their strengths.
Match Facts
Head-to-head
- Northern Ireland have won only twice in 14 meetings with Germany (D4, L8).
- Those two wins came in qualifying for the 1984 European Championship. That is the only time that a team has beaten Germany/West Germany both home and away in a qualifying campaign.
- Current Northern Ireland assistant boss Jimmy Nicholl played in both of those fixtures.
- Northern Ireland's 1-0 away win in November 1983 remains their last victory against Germany. Norman Whiteside scored the winning goal that day.
- This is their first meeting at a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup. They drew 2-2 in that encounter in Malmo as both teams progressed to the quarter-finals.
- Northern Ireland have lost only one of their last 14 internationals (W7, D6).
- They have not conceded more than one goal in their last 15 internationals, since they lost 2-0 in qualifying to Romania in November 2014.
- Seven of Northern Ireland's last 10 goals in competitive games have come from set-pieces (four from corners, three from indirect free-kicks).
- Northern Ireland went from two shots (zero on target) in their Euro 2016 opener against Poland to 13 shots (seven on target) in their second outing against Ukraine.
- The last time Germany failed to make it out of the group stages of a major tournament was at Euro 2004. Since then, they've made the last four at every single major competition.
- Germany have won 12 of their last 15 games at major tournaments, drawing two and losing one - that was a 2-1 defeat to Italy in the Euro 2012 semi-finals.
- Thomas Muller hasn't scored or assisted a single goal in seven games at the Euros. He's had just one shot on target in 180 minutes so far at Euro 2016.
- Muller has scored 10 goals and provided six assists in 13 World Cup games.
Mario Gomez scored in the 30th minute from Thomas Mueller's pass to enable world champions Germany beat Northern Ireland 1-0 in Paris on Tuesday
Northern Ireland were beaten by world champions Germany but still advanced to the last 16 of Euro 2016 after the Czech Republic's 2-0 defeat by Turkey.
The Czechs' loss meant Northern Ireland go through as one of four best third-placed teams as they have a better record than Albania and Turkey.
Northern Ireland finished the group stage with three points, the same number as Albania and Turkey, but boast a better goal difference than their rivals
- Northern Ireland completed 110 passes against Germany, 11 fewer than Toni Kroos (121)
- Only the Republic of Ireland have completed fewer passes in a Euro finals game since 1980 (v Netherlands in 1988 - 102 passes)
- Bastian Schweinsteiger made his 15th appearance for Germany at the European Championship, more than any other German player
- Mesut Ozil misplaced just one of his 68 passes against Northern Ireland (98.5% accuracy)
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