Germany ´ready´ for penalties, says Koepke

Germany’s goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke doesn’t want his side’s World Cup last-16 clash with England here on Sunday to go to penalties, but says Germany will be prepared if it does.

“I think it would be good to avoid penalties, but if we have to go there, we’re ready,” said former international Koepke, who attended Friday’s pre-match press conference in place of head coach Joachim Loew.

“(Manuel) Neuer, our goalkeeper, has all the information he needs.”

Asked to divulge more information on Neuer’s preparations, Koepke was coy.

“It’s an internal matter,” he said. “We’ll talk to Neuer, but I won’t tell you (the media) anything. We must keep it a surprise for tomorrow.”

Koepke paved the way for Germany’s triumph at the 1996 European Championship in England when he saved the crucial penalty from Gareth Southgate in a semi-final penalty shootout against the hosts at Wembley.

Germany also defeated England on penalties in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, but despite his country’s spotkick prowess, Koepke insists it is impossible to prepare for the pressures of a penalty shootout.

“When the match gets to penalties, the atmosphere on the pitch will be completely different,” he said. “It’s difficult to prepare for that.”