Germany will decide on the fitness of captain Bastian Schweinsteiger only hours before their World Cup second round match against England.

German goalkeeping coach Andres Koepke said Schweinsteiger and defender Jerome Boateng had participated in the team's final training session.

"We've just completed our final training session. Even the players with minor injuries were able to participate, Koepke said.

"They need to be 100 per cent in terms of fitness so our doctors will decide tomorrow shortly before the match," Koepke said, adding that neither Schweinsteiger nor Boateng completed the whole session.

Schweinsteiger has been suffering from a hamstring strain as well as a back muscle injury and was substituted in the 1-0 win over Ghana on Wednesday that secured Germany's progress.

Boateng, also facing a fitness battle after picking up a calf strain against Ghana, is unlikely to play, with Marcell Jansen set to take his place.

Koepke confirmed that forward Cacau would be out for four or five days with a torn ligament.

When asked about the soaring confidence back home in Germany ahead of the last-16 tie, Koepke said: "We also believe we can do it. We are full of confidence and we're perfectly prepared to play a great match tomorrow."

Koepke said the match was as big for Germans as for the English, who have often suffered heartbreak at the hands of the Germans, including in penalty shootouts at the World Cup in 1990 and at Euro `96.

He said it would be a special occasion, even for players who had been very young for some of the past classic encounters, due to the sheer size of the match.

"This is a special situation and I'm sure it's going to translate on to the pitch as well," he said.

Koepke, who famously saved Gareth Southgate's penalty in the Euro 1996 semi-final, said Germany did not want the match to go to penalties but were prepared for them.

German coach Joachim Loew missed the press conference due to "logistical difficulties" after his side was unable to train on the pitch in Bloemfontein.

The usual practice is for the head coach and a player to speak to reporters on the eve of the game but Germany instead sent Koepke, who denied it was a protest at not being able to train on the pitch.

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