Germany have to improve their attacking game at Euro 2016 or they "won't go far" in the tournament, defender Jerome Boateng has warned.
In Germany's 0-0 draw with Poland on Thursday, the Nationalmannschaft recorded just three attempts on target, and -- although their opponents ended the 90 minutes with no shot at Manuel Neuer -- the 2014 World Cup winners were lucky to escape defeat after Arkadiusz Milik wasted two good chances in the second half.
Going into their final match of Group C against Northern Ireland next Tuesday, Germany look certain to qualify for the knockout stages and, should they not be defeated, only have to equal Poland's result against Ukraine to win the group.
Still, despite the comfortable situation, centre-back Boateng has warned his teammates further up the field that they have to dramatically improve or Germany's 2016 Euro campaign will end before the final.
"We can be pleased that we've drawn the match," Boateng said. "We did not win any one-on-one duels in attack. There was not a lot of movement -- it just wasn't enough.
"We have to take shots. It's all good until we reach the final third, but we can't get past the opponents, are not dangerous. We need to improve that, otherwise we won't get far."
Striking a similar note in his post-match interview, Germany midfielder Toni Kroos said: "We just lacked something, we were not able to secure the balls. We played well defensively, Poland maybe had one big chance. But we just lack something in attack."
In his column for Bild, former Germany coach Franz Beckenbauer, however, was fairly relaxed over the goalless draw with Poland as he wrote that he understands "you don't test your limits in the second group match" since the Euro will "take a lot of strength."
The World Cup winner, both as a coach and player, added: "One thing distinguishes our team from the others: we are the only team with a lot of potential to improve."