Ziege keen to prove German doubters 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 the back door with a play-off victory over Ukraine after a disappointing qualifying campaign.

And that has left many Germans with low expectations for the three-time winners’ chances at the finals.

But Tottenham defender Ziege insists the players at least are confident mood.

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

‘‘I am convinced that 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 on Saturday, 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.’’

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

‘‘The injury was painful but not dangerous,’’ said Voller.