Saturday 26 March 2016 13:58, UK
Germany coach Joachim Low has hailed England and Leicester striker Jamie Vardy as a "spectacular player".
The 29-year-old has scored 19 goals this season to help take Leicester five points clear at the top of the Premier League and is in Roy Hodgson's squad ahead of Saturday's friendly meeting in Berlin against the world champions.
With skipper Wayne Rooney absent with a knee injury, Vardy is in line to pick up his fifth England cap at the Olympiastadion as he looks to break his international duck.
As well as attracting plenty of praise back home, it appears his exploits have also made an impression on Low, who is well aware of the threat the former non-league forward poses.
"We did watch him and he is a spectacular player," he said. "A great performance, we did talk about him the last couple of days, not only him, but he is a player who is straightforward and is always looking to find the gap in the defence and get in behind the defence.
"That is where it hurts the most and I think that is one of his biggest qualities."
Vardy may have to settle for a place on England's bench due to the form of Harry Kane, however. The Tottenham striker tops the Premier League scoring charts with 21 - including five in his last three games - and Low knows the 22-year-old can also cause damage.
"Kane could play as well," he added. "I'm not sure if they have played together already. It could really impact our defence and it will be a different game if Kane or Vardy is playing - he is a fantastic player."
Vardy has been joined in Hodgson's latest England squad by Leicester team-mate Danny Drinkwater, who is set to make his debut either against Germany or in Tuesday's Wembley clash with the Netherlands.
Another impressive performer in Claudio Ranieri's side this season has been German defender Robert Huth and, despite going without a cap for almost a decade, Low said he would have no qualms about bringing the 31-year-old back into his squad if necessary.
"I'm very happy about his performances in the Premier League, he has always been a great player and had great performances in our team," he said. "I know if something happens with our defenders we can call him. We do have a lot of defenders in our pocket but we could call him.
"He is a really good central defender and I would be happy if he wins the Premier League."
With Euro 2016 on the horizon, both Low and Hodgson could experiment on Saturday night - and the Germany coach knows their old foes offer a threat.
"England has improved a lot recently due to the coach Roy Hodgson, he had a big impact on the team" he said. "I have known him for some time, also in Switzerland, the team has always been well coordinated, it is difficult for us to play against them and they are really good on the counter-attack."
