Germany's Nagelsmann says 'perfect performance' needed v Paraguay

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann is expecting another tough game against South American opposition when the four-times winners take on Paraguay in the World Cup last 32 on Monday.

Germany lost 2-1 to Ecuador in their final group match but had already secured top spot.

Now they face a Paraguay team who finished third in their group but are promising a combative game.

"It is a well defending team, they try to stay in a compact way and try to win the balls," Nagelsmann told a news conference on Sunday ahead of the game in Foxborough near Boston.

"They have really good players, strong physical players. We need a perfect performance."

The Ecuador loss was only on Thursday but Nagelsmann is happy to be playing again so quickly.

"I think always when you lose a game it is better that the next game follows as soon as possible. We had enough time to prepare, hopefully in a good way," he said.

Left back Nathaniel Brown again trained in Germany's final session before Monday's match.

The Eintracht Frankfurt man, one of the revelations of the tournament, missed the loss to Ecuador with adductor problems but returned to training on Saturday and backed it up on Sunday at their North Carolina base. They then flew to Boston.

Brown had played in the 7-1 win over Curaçao and 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast to great effect. His replacement David Raum struggled against Ecuador.

Brown's fitness means coach Nagelsmann is likely to go back to his winning team, except for centre back Antonio Rüdiger replacing Nico Schlotterbeck, who is out of the tournament with an ankle injury.

When asked if he might make other changes against Paraguay, Nagelsmann said: "It is a mix between many different things. Maybe some things could help a player get into the game. I look at the overall situation."

The winner will play France or Sweden in the last 16.