Mesut Ozil brushed aside question marks about the spirit in the Germany camp and insisted everyone is pulling in the same direction as they strive for World Cup qualification.

The Euro 2012 semifinalists have won both their matches in Group C despite vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger claiming the atmosphere in the dressing room was not as good as that at his club side Bayern Munich.

"I know how these guys tick and how we work," Ozil told German football magazine Kicker Thursday. "We are a unit and everyone is fighting for each other."

The Real Madrid midfielder does not see a problem and says all the players are desperate to beat the Republic of Ireland Friday night and Sweden on Tuesday.

"Our aim is to win both games," he said. "We will prepare ourselves to do that and give everything we have.

"Although the expectation is now very large, in recent years we have shown that we can consistently turn in great performances."

The Republic's hopes of causing an upset have been hit by the news captain Robbie Keane will not play due to an Achilles injury.

The 32-year-old was unable to play a full part in training in Malahide this morning and the decision has been taken that he will not be involved in the game at the Aviva Stadium, although he has not given up hope of making Tuesday's trip to the Faroe Islands.

The Republic and Sweden have also got 100 percent records in the group although both nations have played just the one game.

Sweden will expect to make it two wins out of two as it visit the Faroe Islands.

Star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in a confident mood ahead of the trip to Torshavn, saying "it will be like all the matches, we will go there to win."

Kazakhstan and Austria meet in Astana with both teams looking to register their first points of the qualifying campaign.

Information from Press Association was used in this report.