Manuel Neuer has acknowledged Olivier Giroud is a force to be reckoned with, but has stressed Germany do not fear the France striker ahead of Thursday s semi-final.
Giroud found a way past Neuer in both of the Champions League encounters between Arsenal and Bayern Munich in 2015-16, while also finding the net in France s 2-0 friendly win over Germany in November 2015.
He will be looking to score his fourth Euro 2016 goal on Thursday, but Neuer is confident Germany can cope with the 29-year-old.
Giroud is a very dangerous poacher inside the box, Neuer said at a news conference.
He is strong in the air, he is dangerous for central defenders.
But we know him and can prepare for him.
I don t like focusing on a special player in the opposing team too much. They bring a lot of quality with other players as well.
Antoine Griezmann, Giroud s partner up front for France, also beat Neuer when Atletico Madrid eliminated Bayern in the Champions League and the German has nothing but respect for Euro 2016 s leading goalscorer, who has four goals in the tournament so far.
Griezmann is incredibly strong in one-on-ones and on the counterattack, Neuer added.
We all know he is strong in the air, his timing is very good. There are a lot of things we have to keep an eye on.
We have to very organised and make sure we get our defensive positioning right.