Germany sporting director Rudi Völler is confident that the team can shake off their defeat against Ecuador and deliver in their first World Cup knock-out match with Paraguay on Monday.
But Völler also told reporters on Saturday that attacking players Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz are among those who must raise their game.
"Now the World Cup is really getting started. And there's a belief that we can get everything out of ourselves, that we'll go absolutely to the limit, play a really good game, and of course advance to the next round," Völler said.
"It will of course be completely different on Monday. Then it’s a knock-out match. Everything is at stake - either advancing to the next round or going home. The players know that."
Völler said that Thursday's 2-1 Ecuador defeat, which Germany could afford because they were already confirmed as group winners, does not lower his belief in the team but that they are not looking beyond Monday.
If Germany beat Paraguay in the last 32, top teams could be next such as France in the last 16, Brazil in the quarter-finals and Spain in the semis.
Völler said that "we are not dealing with this at the moment" while also insisting that "we have a team that on a very good day can beat anyone if it plays at the limit."
To achieve that, Havertz, Musiala and Wirtz must deliver after so far underperforming.
Havertz scored a brace and Musiala once in the opening 7-1 thumping of Curaçao, while Wirtz has not found the net at all so far. Their three goals are as many as super-sub Deniz Undav has scored on his own.
"These players must deliver if we want to to reach the big goals," Völler said.
The sporting director, who won the 1990 World Cup as a player and coached Germany to the runners-up spot in 2002 when they beat Paraguay 1-0 in the last 16, said it is not clear yet whether left back Nathaniel Brown can recover in time from his adductor problems.
Brown missed the Ecuador match and has skipped team training since. Völler said "we all hope" that he can return on Monday, labelling Brown's development "breathtaking."
Federation managing director Andreas Rettig said Germany could take heart from how they responded to a 2-0 defeat by Slovakia in qualifying.
Needing a win in the reverse fixture to avoid the World Cup play-offs, they responded in style with a 6-0 triumph.
"We know we’re now up against the wall in the knock-out stages," he told MagentaTV.
"We’ve been in this situation before against Slovakia. The pressure was high then too. On Monday, we’ll see the Slovakia side of the team, not the Ecuador side."
