Ziege ready to prove critics wrong

Germany skipper Christian Ziege believes Rudi Voller's men can prove the sceptics back home wrong and be a threat at the World Cup.

Germany had to sneak into the tournament via a play-off victory over Ukraine after a disappointing qualifying campaign.

That has left many Germans with low expectations, but the Tottenham defender insists the players are in a confident mood.

"We believe we can go a lot farther then a lot of people think," he said.

"I am convinced we will convince all those who are not convinced."

As the squad left its Miyazaki training base for Sapporo ahead of their opening match against Saudi Arabia, Voller acknowledged the Germans have to find some consistency if they are to make progress.

"We can beat many teams on any given day, but we can also lose against many on a bad day," he said.

"They'll try to play with us if we let them, so we must put them under pressure, force them to make mistakes. It's really up to us, we have to impose our game."

Michael Ballack will start against the Saudis despite a nagging foot injury.