Kramer: It is a very important week

Germany are getting ready for their most difficult games in their UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying campaign, according to Christoph Kramer.

The Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder, who cannot remember much of his involvement in the FIFA World Cup™ Final - which ended prematurely for him due to concussion, knows enough about Germany's upcoming opponents Poland and the Republic of Ireland to realise the world champions are in for a tricky week.

"They are both very, very important games with Poland, particularly away, and Ireland our most difficult tests," he said at a press conference. "After winning the World Cup and without hardly any pre-season, of course it's going to be hard, but that must not be an excuse. It's important that we win these two games so that we can lead the way in the group from the beginning."

Kramer's own story is quite impressive, considering he was relatively unknown 18 months ago when he joined Gladbach on a two-season loan from Bayer Leverkusen. "It's hard to explain and to realise what has happened in just a year," he said. "It's all gone so incredibly quickly, but of course I'm pleased with it all. But as quick as it has gone upwards, you can also fall back down again and I know I still have a lot to learn and can still improve."

He can do a lot of that by taking a leaf out of Thomas Muller's book. The Bayern Munich midfielder shared the podium with Kramer at a press conference on Thursday and, in the absence of captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, he will have a greater role to play in the coming week.

"I've always said that I want to make my contribution to lift my team-mates," Muller said. "I'm a pretty emotional figure out on the field and I always try to talk to my team-mates. I'm not surprised by the development Christoph Kramer has made because you can see in training how serious a footballer he is. He has an irrepressible will."