Michael Ballack: Germany a fading force

Ballack, capped 90 times by Germany, believes his side need to rediscover their ruthless streak after losing their last two matches at home, to England and Norway.

The three-time world champions play Liechenstein in Liepzig on Saturday, followed by Wales in Cariff on April 1 in their bid to qualify for the World Cup.

Germany skipper Ballack, speaking to Kicker magazine, said: “We are lacking in dominance.

"And recently results have also not been good. This has a lot to do with physical condition but also with quality. We are in a phase where we don’t put teams under enough pressure.”

Yet Ballack believes there is no danger of Germany missing out on qualification, and said: “We will qualify for the World Cup and we will go past the group stage even if it gets tight. But then come the matches against the big teams.

“We must now set the foundations so that at the World Cup we can win the so-called life or death matches. This is what I am trying to point out as the captain."

The Euro 2008 finalists are top of European qualifying Group Four with 10 points after four matches, leaving them four points ahead of Russia who have a game in hand.

Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness has supported Ballack’s captaincy by claiming that he is the only man capable of skippering Germany at next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

Hoeness said: “If he stays at Chelsea and things keep developing positively for him there, then he will be a leading figure again come the World Cup.”

The former Bayern player has had his authority questioned in recent weeks after criticising coach Joachim Low but Hoeness is in no doubt about his worth.

“We need him because there are no young players as far down the line as he is,” he added.