England can expect a different Germany: Michel Sablon

Dietmar Hamann has called England favourites, Lothar Matthaeus has lost faith in coach Joachim Loew and Juergen Klinsmann has named six English players the Germany team fear.

I'm not sure what the mood in Germany is like ahead of tonight's Euro 2020 last-16 clash against England at Wembley, but I'm optimistic about Die Mannschaft's chances.

  EURO 2020, ROUND OF 16

ENGLAND

GERMANY

Don't get me wrong, I don't think they are among the four best teams in the tournament.

But neither are England.

Gareth Southgate's team deserve credit for keeping clean sheets in all their group games. To do that for three straight matches is no mean feat.

The Three Lions are not a bad team, it's just that they are not yet at the same level as Europe's best.

If you compare them to France, Italy, Belgium or even Portugal, they are just not as good technically.

This is very important in the modern game because, unlike before when things were more open, now games take place with players bunched together in 30-40m zones.

This makes things like technique on the ball and passing and receiving the ball in tight spaces even more important.

It can lead to chance creation and it shows in the fact that England are the first team in European Championship history to top a group despite scoring just two goals.

It's not that England are not heading in the right direction, their success at youth level internationally and in Europe in recent years prove this.

But it is going to take more time for that to translate to the senior national team. I saw the same situation unfold with Belgium's current golden generation of players.

After playing a flat back four in all of the group games, I expect Southgate to change his system to try and deal with Germany's biggest strength - their midfield.

With Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens on the flanks, Toni Kroos, Ilkay Guendogan or Leon Goretzka in the centre and Kai Havertz or Thomas Mueller dropping back, England could be overrun if they don't make changes.

Expect a three-man central defence or the addition of another defensive midfielder.

But I still think Germany will pull through.

Individually, they don't have the star names of the past, like Franz Beckenbauer, Matthaeus or Klinsmann.

Nor do they have dominating players like some of their rivals, such as Kylian Mbappe (France), Kevin de Bruyne (Belgium) or Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal).

But they compensate for it as a team.

They might not have been great in the group stage, aside from the win over Portugal, but Germany in the knockout stages are a different animal.

You can see the difference in the group stage and knockout football over the last few days. There has been no good games, or even a good half, because the pressure is very different in knockout football.

But Germany are used to this, they thrive in this kind of scenario.

They have a winner's mentality, and a degree of self-confidence in their ability.

Add to that their excellent level of fitness, concentration and organisation.

You have seen during the matches between Italy and Austria or Belgium and Portugal that the rhythm and levels dropped late on.

That's not going to happen with Germany. For the full 90 minutes, they will keep running, swopping positions and maintaining their tactical shape.

Playing at Wembley won't intimidate them at all, even if they have not been able to train on the pitch.

There will be no home advantage for England, so don't expect football to come home.

• United Arab Emirates technical director Michel Sablon occupied the same role in Singapore from 2015-2018. He was part of Belgium's coaching staff at three World Cups, including 1986, when they finished fourth. The former Belgian FA technical director is credited with developing the blueprint that produced their current golden generation of footballers.