Hosts are ready to fly the flags

Germany v Sweden: The national debate here in Germany over whether it is a good thing to have the overt displays of nationalism associated with the World Cup have been one of the more curious aspects of the social background against which the tournament is being played. Sometimes, it has seemed, even the Germans don't trust themselves to leave it all to a little bit of flag waving but suspect deep down that one thing will inevitably lead to another.

Come this afternoon, though, the flags will be out in numbers when Jurgen Klinsmann's side take on Sweden in Munich fresh from a stroll through their group that has inspired genuine hope that the host nation can triumph in this competition. Klinsmann, himself, is not going quite that far but he is certainly bullish regarding today's encounter and may have dug a bit of hole for himself with his observation that for his team to exit the tournament before the semi-finals would be "a catastrophe".

"We have a lot of respect for Sweden, they've got some great players in their ranks," the German coach said yesterday before disregarding the unwritten rules regarding the levels of cautious respect to be shown to prospective opponents by adding, "but we think we'll be able to beat them. Even if it goes 120 minutes, we're hopeful and confident that we'll be in better shape than they are".

The Germans may not have conceded a goal after their opening day win against Costa Rica but their back four, in which only Philipp Lahm has looked genuinely world class so far, has not faced strikers of the quality of Henrik Larsson or Zlatan Ibrahimovic in any of their three games while Miroslav Klose, hailed for his four group stage goals (to go with the five he got in 2002) and now suddenly linked by the media with Arsenal, has never found the net in a knock-out game.

Nevertheless, Klinsmann insisted yesterday that, "the minimum for us is the last four. If we are out in the last 16 (which has not happened to the three times champions since 1978) it would be a catastrophe".

Lars Lagerback's side will undoubtedly start as underdogs but they are hardly without hope if the attacking side of their game finally starts to click.

To date it has not although coach Lagerback insists that the return from injury of Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be a major boost. "He is a big, strong forward who manages to be fast and agile," he said.

A big performance from the Juventus striker, who has not come here off the best of seasons, is almost certainly required.

Elsewhere, the only likely change looks to be the return of Christian Wilhelmsson for Mattias Jonsson the right side of midfield.

Germany (4-4-2)

Lehmann; Friedrich, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Lahm; Schneider, Frings, Ballack, Schweinsteiger; Podolski, Klose

Sweden (4-4-2)

Isaksson; Alexandersson, Mellberg, Lucic, Edman; Wilhelmsson, Kallstrom, Linderoth, Ljungberg; Ibrahimovic, Larsson