Defending champions Germany, who are second in Group F with three points, lost to group leaders Mexico 1-0 in their first match of the group stage, but gained a crucial 2-1 victory against Sweden, with Toni Kroos netting the winner in stoppage time.

"They [Germany] needed a match like they had against Sweden to shake themselves up. I think that in the next games we will see a totally different Germany - they will run faster, fight more fiercely and create even more goalscoring opportunities. The German "machine" is now fixed and it will race to the final at full speed," Kiriakov said.

He added that their ability to pull themselves together in critical situations had always been Germany's best quality and the match with Sweden was a perfect example of it.

In their final match of the group stage, Germany will play South Korea at the Kazan Arena on Wednesday.