Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 10y

Thomas Muller upbeat as final looms

Thomas Muller has said he is optimistic ahead of the World Cup final against Argentina, telling a news conference that Germany needed to focus on their opponents as a team rather than just worrying about Lionel Messi.

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Muller, one of Germany's star performers in Brazil, has scored five goals on their path to the final and is in contention for the Golden Boot award as the World Cup's top scorer.

But he said the prospect of winning the same individual award he claimed at the 2010 tournament in South Africa was low on his list of priorities, adding: "Should I score, it would help in both competitions [the final and the Golden Boot] -- but one of them is more important than the other.

"The World Cup final is the biggest match a footballer can play. It's only played every four years and, of course, it stands out even from the Champions League final."

Muller has faced Messi for both Bayern Munich and Germany, scoring in the 4-0 hammering of Argentina in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals and the Champions League semifinal hammering of Barcelona two seasons ago.

He said: "I have played against Messi quite a lot and, from what I can remember, it was mainly positive.

"I have never lost a competitive match against him. You always have to confront him and, once he has dribbled past you, the next player has to be waiting for him... and then you have to get in line to confront him again.

"But it's even more important that we understand that Argentina is a team, and we need to defend them as a team, and not focus on individual players."

He said Joachim Low's side needed to play to their own strengths, explaining: "We have to have a good build up play from defence, play quickly, find the spaces and attack their back four, using the wings.

"And if all of that does not help, we'll just score from a set piece again. We've recently become kings at that."

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