Germany don´t fear Giroud – Neuer

Manuel Neuer has acknowledged Olivier Giroud is a force to be reckoned with, but has stressed Germany do not fear the France striker ahead of Thursday’s semi-final.

Giroud found a way past Neuer in both of the Champions League encounters between Arsenal and Bayern Munich in 2015-16, while also finding the net in France’s 2-0 friendly win over Germany in November 2015.

He will be looking to score his fourth Euro 2016 goal on Thursday, but Neuer is confident Germany can cope with the 29-year-old.

“Giroud is a very dangerous poacher inside the box,” Neuer said at a news conference.

“He is strong in the air, he is dangerous for central defenders.

“But we know him and can prepare for him.

“I don’t like focusing on a special player in the opposing team too much. They bring a lot of quality with other players as well.”

Antoine Griezmann, Giroud’s partner up front for France, also beat Neuer when Atletico Madrid eliminated Bayern in the Champions League and the German has nothing but respect for Euro 2016’s leading goalscorer, who has four goals in the tournament so far.

“Griezmann is incredibly strong in one-on-ones and on the counterattack,” Neuer added.

“We all know he is strong in the air, his timing is very good. There are a lot of things we have to keep an eye on.

“We have to very organised and make sure we get our defensive positioning right.”