Werder Bremen midfielder Mesut Ozil says he feels no pressure going into today's clash with England.

A target for Arsenal and Manchester City, Ozil's superb strike against Ghana last Wednesday secured Germany's place in the knock-out stage of the tournament and underlined his status as a future global star.

But Ozil insisted: "I don't feel under pressure when I play. I play with freedom and therefore enjoy my football.

"Besides, there is no greater pressure than the pressure you put on yourself.

"I have a typical German mentality and I hate losing. If we were to go out and get beaten by England, while there is no shame in that, I wouldn't be happy."

Ozil is too young to appreciate fully the historical rivalry between the two nations but claims losing is not an option for the Germans.

"We are only focused on victory and have given no thought to losing the game," he added. "But we are a young side that are enjoying playing without pressure and that gives us an advantage over an England side who were strongly tipped to do well in the World Cup.

"Of course, I know about the rivalry between the two sides but maybe I'm too young to fully appreciate it. Nonetheless, it doesn't make me any less determined to go out and win. On their day England are a formidable nation and so far they have had an indifferent start to their World Cup campaign.

"But some teams have a habit of starting slow and growing in confidence as the tournament unfolds. It's amazing what a win can do for your confidence. But any results that have preceded this are irrelevant.

"It's how we perform over 90 minutes that counts, not about the achievements of past German sides and the results they have gained against England in the past. And this is a very different German side to those that have gone before us. We don't play to grind out results, we are a very offensive unit and bring more entertainment to the pitch."