We have to give our best against Colombia: German coach

"They (Colombia) made a very good team for the World Cup.

They played in a very competitive group. So we are expecting a very close game tomorrow," Germany coach Christian Wueck told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

"Colombia have very fast players, very strong players and we have to give our best like we did against Guinea," he added.

Germany began their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica but suffered a 0-4 humiliation against Asian side Iran in their second match before notching up a 3-1 victory over Guinea to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals as Group C runners-up side.

Wueck said his players were happy to be playing in New Delhi as the Capital city is less humid and the temperature here is colder than Margao and Kochi where they had played their group matches.

"We are looking very positive into the match, we are very happy to be in Delhi. We came from Kochi yesterday. Humidity here is not so high as compared to Kochi and Goa. So it is better for my players. That's why we are happy to play against Colombia here," said the German coach.

"In Germany, the players need to play in clubs so that they can get many high level matches and then also play international matches. I think it should be the same in India." 

Asked about his opinion whether the Indian team players that took part in the tournament should be allowed to play for other clubs or be kept together to play in the U-19 national team, the German coach said, "In an ideal situation I feel the Indian players should play in the clubs and then play in the U-19 national team and try to qualify for the U-20 World Cup in 2019." 

Colombia coach Orlando Restrepo said that his side would look to have more possession of the ball than their earlier matches.

"We want to recover the ball as soon as possible and want to possess the ball more. We have been better each game and we want to play better against Germany," he said.

"We planned a different strategy against the USA, different from those against Ghana and India (in the group stages). It (the strategy) worked against the USA. We will implement the strategy as required tomorrow," he added.

Restrepo said that his side may have a slight edge as far as acclimatisation to the conditions here is concerned.

"It will be a bit easier for us because we have been here earlier. We will know the stadium, the pitch and people here better than them.