Germany's second group game defeats in the past two tournaments should act as a warning when they face Netherlands in their Euro 2012 Group B match on Wednesday in Kharkiv, team manager Oliver Bierhoff said on Tuesday.
The Germans, among the title favorites, go into the game on the back of a 1-0 win over Portugal with the Dutch having their backs to the wall following a surprise loss to Denmark by the same score.
Defeats by Croatia and Serbia in the Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup respectively put Germany in a tight spot going into their final group games at those events and the three-time European champions are eager to avoid a repeat scenario.
"I hope that after the second game this time it will be different and that we come out as winners," the former Germany international told reporters ahead of the team's departure to Kharkiv.
"In the third game we were then under pressure against seemingly weaker opponents like Austria (2008) and Ghana (2010)."
Germany breezed past Netherlands 3-0 in a friendly in November but Bierhoff warned Wednesday's clash would be a completely different affair.
"We should not see that game as a standard. We would be crazy to think that this game will be anything like that. It will be a much more physical game," he said.
"They were missing two or three players then. Now it will be a much tougher game because they are under pressure to win."
"But if everything comes together for us we can win this game. We have said we want to beat the Dutch and that has not changed."
Germany play their final group game against Denmark in Lviv on Sunday.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Ken Ferris)
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