Denmark v Germany: match preview Bastian Schweinsteiger, also 27, is another nearing that landmark while Mario Gomez is now well past 50 caps despite Miroslav Klose's understudy for so long. The core of this team could quite conceivably be around together for the next three international tournaments until the World Cup in Russia in 2018, although they should really peak over the next four years. The collective is always paramount for Germany but it has been the performances of Schweinsteiger and Gomez that have really stood out over his past week. All the more remarkable, then, to consider that they had both entered the tournament after the epic disappointment of losing the Champions League final to Chelsea. Schweinsteiger, despite missing a penalty in the shoot-out, was also exceptional in that match and so was entitled to look back on the defeat with fewer personal regrets. Gomez, though, might have been haunted by the memory of missing so many chances. That suspicion gathered momentum when he started so indifferently against Portugal in Germany's first group game but his late winner could prove to be a pivotal moment in the entire tournament. Gomez's all-round play was then excellent in scoring both goals in the 2-1 win over Holland, although he has still not escaped some quite fierce criticism in Germany. Mehmet Scholl, who is now a coach at Bayern Munich, even said on Germany television last week that he was afraid Gomez would develop "bed sores" because he was on the ground so often. Gomez's team-mates, notably Schweinsteiger, have since rallied vocally in his support but he still sounds like a player wrestling with some self-doubt. "Of course you think about the criticism," said Gomez. I talked to the coach and he told me I had a good match, should forget about it and let people talk. It was not easy to get past this. If you stay on pitch you feel the pressure and know people watch you. It was not easy for me to play. We beat a strong team against Portugal. I scored and thought there would be support from me for everyone, but there wasn't.  His mood was certainly in marked contrast yesterday to Podolski who admitted that his real target this summer is to equal the 103 caps of Franz Beckenbauer, a landmark he would reach if Germany do progress to the final. "I am optimistic that it will happen," said Podolski. The only thing we are missing is a title to crown our development over the last few years and we want to show here that we can win titles. Only the most unlikely sequence of results today could see Germany eliminated but, in Denmark, they are facing a team who have already caused the biggest upset of the tournament with their 1-0 defeat of Holland. Morten Olsen, though, clearly regards Germany as another step up again and made no attempt to hide the scale of the task facing his team. "We are facing players from Bayern Munich, Dortmund and Real Madrid," said Olsen, the Denmark coach. They are Champions League clubs all of them. It's a totally different level. Key clash Daniel Agger v Mario Gomez: Outstanding in negating Robin van Persie during the shock 1-0 win over Holland last week, Agger faces a very different sort of test against Gomez. At 6ft 2 ins tall, Gomez will provide a more direct physical threat and, after three goals in two games, is at the top of his confidence. The difficulty for Agger will be also to stifle the fluid attacking midfield options that are likely to flood forward in support of Gomez. Managerial head to head Morten Olsen v Joachim Low: A clash between two of the longest serving and, in recent years, most successful international managers. As a player, Olsen helped his country to a shock 2-0 win over Germany in the group phase of the 1986 World Cup but it would still be an even bigger surprise if he were to mastermind another victory tonight. Olsen has, however, achieved notable success over Germany, with Denmark recording two wins and a draw in their three most recent friendlies. Previous meetings Germany hold a 14-8 advantage in head-to-heads with Denmark but, in competitive matches, the Danes have actually won two of the three matches. Their most famous victory over Germany was in the final of Euro "92 but they also suffered their heaviest ever defeat against Monday night's opponents, losing 8-0 in Breslau in 1937. Probable teams: Germany (4-2-3-1): Neuer, Boateng, Badstuber, Hummels, Lahm, Khedira, Schweinsteiger, Mueller, Ozil, Podolski, Gomez Denmark (4-2-3-1): Andersen, Poulsen, Kjaer, Agger, Jacobsen, Zimling, Kvist, Mikkelsen, Eriksen, Krohn-Dehli, Bendtner Referee: Velasco Carballo (Esp)