Joachim Low wants Germany to show Cristiano Ronaldo they have the kind of bottle that he and Portugal cannot handle in Saturday's crunch Euro 2020 clash.
Head coach Low has told his team to "take more risks" and be brave as Germany bid to bounce back from their opening 1-0 defeat to France in Group F.
The Munich tussle follows several days when Ronaldo has faced scrutiny for moving two Coca-Cola bottles that were positioned on a news conference stage, and appearing to declare he preferred water to the tournament sponsor's product.
"Cristiano can do more than put away Coca-Cola bottles, he has more qualities," said Low on Friday evening, as he faced questions on how Germany would handle the Portuguese superstar.
That quip came amid a full assessment of Portugal's threat, but Low was more eager to talk about his own team's potential, feeling they have more to give than they showed against France.
He said that result left an "unfortunate and bitter" feeling, and added: "It's no secret we didn't create enough."
Low, who will step down after this tournament, hopes to see "more attacking power", saying Germany "need to be more intense, more effective".
"I think every player understood in attack we need to react in a different way. If we are in the final third, we need to stay there. [Against France] we always played backwards going out of the final third," Low said.
"We tried to be secure, not intense enough, but we need this dynamic in attack, especially in the final third.
"We need to take more risks, occupy spaces better, not go out of these spaces, and be more effective. We missed a number of occasions and options to do better [in the France game] and I'm sure we will do better tomorrow."
Portugal began with a 3-0 win over Hungary, though they were flattered by that margin, with the match having been goalless going into the final 10 minutes.
Ronaldo scored twice, his first a penalty, after Raphael Guerreiro broke the deadlock.
"It's not a one-man show, that's clear," Low said of Portugal.
"Portugal have been at the top since four to five years. With winning the Euro title [in 2016] they grew together, they're a great team.
"Is it a one-man show? It was before... Cristiano Ronaldo the superstar of the Portuguese team, he was 'the man', but this has changed. They have more players of top quality: [Bernardo] Silva, [Bruno] Fernandes, Joao Felix, Jota and many more and they are involved in attack as much as Cristiano is."
Germany would be in great danger of elimination should they lose, and going out in the group stage of his final tournament would hardly be a fitting way to sign off for World Cup winner Low.
"With the pressure we can deal with it, the players can deal with it," Low said. "We need a positive result and we want to show a good performance, but the pressure won't hinder us."
Portugal's last victory against Germany was in the group stages of Euro 2000 – a 3-0 win, courtesy of a Sergio Conceicao hat-trick.
Since then, Germany have won their four meetings with Portugal, all at major tournaments (the World Cups in 2006 and 2014 and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships).
But Low said: "All that's important is tomorrow night, 90 minutes against Portugal, and not what our history is against Portugal or France. This doesn't help if you know about that."
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
Allegri says Juventus are victims of own success after clinching Coppa Italia final berth
Massimiliano Allegri declared Juventus have been victims of their own success this season after watching his Bianconeri side eliminate Lazio to reach the Coppa Italia final on Tuesday.
Juventus took a 2-0 lead into Tuesday's semi-final second leg at Stadio Olimpico but saw that advantage wiped out when Valentin Castellanos scored either side of half-time.
However, a late strike from Arkadiusz Milik handed Juventus a 3-2 aggregate success and ensured they will appear in their eighth Coppa Italia final in the last 10 years.
Despite Juventus having a chance to lift their first major trophy since 2021 and being on course for a return to the Champions League, Allegri has continued to be criticised by sections of the media.
He believes Tuesday's achievement should be celebrated, however, saying: "It's never easy to reach a final, in the last three years we have played two Coppa Italia finals.
"Now we must concentrate on Serie A, as we have not yet achieved Champions League qualification and this weekend it's the head-to-head with Milan."
Juventus sit third in Serie A ahead of Saturday's home clash with the Rossoneri, and with Italy guaranteed five Champions League places for next season, they are almost certain to be back among Europe's elite in 2024-25.
However, Juventus' drop-off in the second half of the season has led to continued speculation regarding Allegri's future.
At the turn of the year, Juventus were just two points behind Inter at the top of the table, but the Nerazzurri are now 22 points clear of their rivals and have clinched the Scudetto with five games to spare.
Allegri believes a fine start to the season gave rise to unreasonable expectations in Turin, adding: "This final is also worth Supercoppa Italiana qualification, so that is important financially.
"Criticism will always be around Juventus, but it's our own fault for having a great first half to the season that nobody was expecting.
"At that point, people thought we could fight it out with Inter, but I was worried that we could have difficulties in the second half. We had a big advantage and mentally rather let go."
Juventus will face either Atalanta or Fiorentina in next month's final, with the Viola holding a 1-0 lead in the other semi-final tie ahead of Wednesday's second leg in Bergamo.
Gallagher insists Chelsea players are fighting for the shirt after Arsenal collapse
Conor Gallagher insists Chelsea's players are putting in the required effort amid fierce fan criticism in the aftermath of Tuesday's 5-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Chelsea's miserable first season under Mauricio Pochettino took another turn for the worse at the Emirates Stadium as they were put to the sword by Mikel Arteta's title contenders.
The Gunners racked up 27 shots at goal as they recorded their biggest ever victory over Chelsea, who looked devoid of inspiration with leading goalscorer Cole Palmer sidelined due to illness.
During the game, one disgruntled travelling fan held up a banner which read: "I don't want your shirt, I just want you to fight for ours".
The charge that Chelsea are not fighting for results was put to Gallagher by TNT Sports after the game, and the Blues' stand-in captain denied that was the case.
"We definitely are putting the effort in," Gallagher said. "I know how much it means to all the boys. It's a very young squad with not much experience as a team in the Premier League.
"This season we've had a lot of ups and downs. We're still improving and working as a team to get to that next level.
"Today was one of those days where we were nowhere near it and we need to dust ourselves off, look at the performance, where we can improve and all the mistakes we made."
The defeat means Chelsea remain ninth in the Premier League table, three points adrift of sixth-placed Newcastle United and Manchester United in seventh, with both of those teams in action on Wednesday.
Pochettino's men face another daunting task on Saturday when they travel to Champions League-chasing Aston Villa, before hosting Tottenham in another London derby next Thursday.
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