Hickersberger: We're not wetting our pants over Germany task

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Austria coach Josef Hickersberger believes Germany are there for the taking in Vienna tonight as the co-hosts look to knock the pre-tournament favourites out of Euro 2008.

Hickersberger was a player when Austria upset the odds against Germany at the 1978 World Cup and his squad have the chance for another giantkilling, with victory enough to send their neighbours home early.

The 60-year-old, eyeing another place in the history books, said: "It is the biggest game of my life and it will be the biggest game forever if we win.

Rally: Josef Hickersberger issues instructions to his players during an Austrian training session.

"We are not wetting our pants because we are playing Germany, we know they
have problems and we know some are injured and they are not playing that well.

"They are not as good as they were in 2006 and we have home advantage, we think we have a good chance."

Andreas Ivanschitz, who will be skipper at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium instead of suspended Sebastian Prodl, added: "This match is special, it is a unique opportunity for us in such a big tournament.

"We are the outsiders but we have shown we are good enough to play against good teams."

The parallels are that Austria were hardly given a chance to win 20 years ago, and ahead of the tournament they have been co-hosting it was the same.

That was before giving Croatia a real scare, then earning a point against Poland with a last-gasp penalty awarded by Premier League referee Howard Webb.

Now they face a Germany side that struggled against Croatia, a defeat that led to clear-the-air talks among players without the management team present.

Germany coach Joachim Low revealed that he felt his squad were blaming each other before the players held their meeting.

"I do think the meeting was a good thing because we should avoid pointing the finger at each other," he said. "Within the team, players and coaching staff have to keep questioning ourselves but not others."

Low feels his squad are capable of dealing with the weight of expectation, and
believes Austria will also be under pressure themselves.

He added: "I promise the team will be playing differently. All of us, every
player, knows 30 million fans will be watching in Germany and have high hopes,
which is why we must win this match for our fans and for our nation."