Polish-born striker Miroslav Klose has warned his Germany team-mates that his 'home' country are "much better" than they showed in their 2-0 opening defeat against Ecuador.

Pawel Janas' troops were widely predicted to prove Germany's toughest opponents in Group A - but only until the unheralded South Americans beat them 2-0 in the first group encounter.

Klose, who spent the first eight-and-a-half years of his life in Poland, fears his former countrymen will strike back.

"I know their country is in turmoil after the bad start. That is very dangerous for us," he stated. "A wounded animal always bites back."

Klose comes off a superb season with Werder Bremen, where he scored 25 goals along with 14 assists.

The 28-year-old confirmed his brilliant shape by grabbing two goals in the opening 4-2 victory over Costa Rica.

And with a wave of World Cup euphoria sweeping through the host country, Klose has fired a warning.

"Poland can play much better than they did against Ecuador and they will be keen to show just that," he vowed. "We know what to expect."

The Bremen striker revealed he never considered playing for Poland.

"When I played in Kaiserslautern the Polish national team coach approached me and asked me whether I could imagine playing for Poland," explained Klose.

"I did not even have to think about it for a long time because I knew if I kept progressing, I would have the chance to play for Germany. And four weeks later I got called up."

Klose also spoke about how football helped him to start a new life in Germany after emigrating in 1987.

"Football was the most important thing for me in my life," Klose revealed.

"Right after school I went straight on to the pitch. It helped me to integrate and win my first friends. I was allowed to play with a lot of teams because I was a little better than the other guys."

Klose has never been shy about his Polish origin - just like fellow attacker Lukas Podolski, who came to Germany when he was six years old.

The future Bayern Munich star certainly considers the meeting "something special".

He said: "I am happy that we play Poland but that does not mean I will pace down now. All that matters are the three points."

Funnily enough, Klose and Podolski usually communicate in Polish on the pitch.

"But not this time," Podolski said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Polish defender Michal Zewlakow felt his inexperienced team-mates were simply overwhelmed by the massive attendance - 52,000 - at last Friday's clash against Ecuador in Gelsenkirchen.

"For a lot of players it was the first time they got to play in front of such a big crowd and even for me it was something new," he said.

"We simply have to change our mentality now and play as good as we can."

Poland's Borussia Dortmund striker Ebi Smolarek - who is unlikely to receive any support on his club's home ground this time out - said it was a do-or-die issue for his country.

"All that matters is a win," he said. "We will give more than 100% and play in a way which will make us proud.

"The return of Michael Ballack will give them a boost. They are much stronger with him. But we also have some very good players.

"Germany are not unbeatable."