GERMANY are never short of footballing confidence, so it is no surprise that after tonight’s clash they will send officials to South Africa to book their hotels for the 2010 finals.

General manager Oliver Bierhoff will lead a delegation to start his country's meticulous preparations for their next major finals.

Germany's 2-1 home win over Russia on Saturday means they already top the group, and despite making all the right noises about their respect for Wales' battling qualities, they clearly intend to make them pay for the goalless draw they clawed from a Euro 2008 qualifier in Frankfurt last November.

Top striker Miroslav Klose underlined their determination not to allow such an embarrassment to occur again.

He said: "In Frankfurt, we relented too easily, this time we will be relentless. Last time it was a mistake, now we will not be taking things lightly and we will have to go that extra mile, like we did against the Russians.

"We have been watching videos, analysing Wales and trying to unlock their system.

“They seem to attack each player in possession with four people, so if they do that there must be unmarked players somewhere, and we must get the ball to them.’’ Germany have a major fitness doubt over Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack, pictured, who aggravated a persistent calf injury against the Russians. He has not trained for two days.

Bierhoff said: "We will not underestimate the Welsh, we do that at our peril.

“You cannot say, 'it is only Wales so we can do without Ballack.' But if there is a shadow of a doubt about him, he will not play.

"We need the three points and then we will be able to go to South Africa to look at hotels and plan our training and organise the preparation for the finals.’’ He added: "Wales always make it difficult for the team who maybe people feel are the number one in the group. And we can see that the team has (Wales boss) John Toshack's fingerprints all over it.

"But this time we will play at a faster pace, we will dictate the play and we will not leave Wales time to breathe.’’ Midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, the former Aston Villa man now playing for Stuttgart, is relishing re-acquainting himself with Craig Bellamy.

Asked by the German media if he accepted "Bellamy was not the typical stiff-upper-lip British gentleman’’, the 26-year-old said: "I remember Bellamy, he is a strong, dangerous player. Maybe he can be temperamental, but that is his strong point.

"He is a very good player with pace, and we expect him to be playing up front on his own. Even so, we must not make one mistake or he will punish us.’’ Wales are clearly running into a supremely-determined German side, who want to get qualification virtually assured as soon as possible.

Hitzlsperger said: "Our coach has told us that it is no use beating the Russians and then stumbling against Wales.

“They may not be as good as Russia, but we all remember how well they can defend from the match in Frankfurt.”