"I'm not thinking about elimination," he said. "With our system we will go a long way in the tournament.

"We played extremely well against the Netherlands and I believe we will do it again against the Czechs.

"Our strengths are that we are a very compact team with a strong defence - I know what's at stake and I'm ready."

Germany are guaranteed to make the quarter-finals if they beat the Czech Republic, who have already made it into the last eight.

Kahn added: "I have demonstrated already that I can be relied on in decisive games. Our fate is in our own hands."