Aston Villa defender Ulises de la Cruz claims Ecuador will bounce back from their 3-0 defeat by Germany and knock England out when the two countries clash in Stuttgart on Sunday.

Against the tournament hosts, Luis Fernando Suarez's team looked nowhere near the side that comfortably edged Poland and Costa Rica in the first two Group A matches.

But de la Cruz believes the comprehensive defeat has not hurt the South Americans' chances of reaching the last eight.

"We lost today but our confidence is strong and the focus is on the next match," he said after the game.

"Germany are a strong team but we had six players not playing.

"They got a rest for the next match. That is not an excuse but the next match is important."

And the 32-year-old added: "It is difficult for us, England have good players and a good squad. But this match is difficult for both teams. There are no easy games in this competition."

De la Cruz also emphasised the positive aspects of the defeat by Germany.

"It was a great opportunity to learn something," he added. "We're making Ecuadorian football history and our aim is to stay in this competition for a long time."

But Ecuador coach Suarez admitted he has full respect for Sven-Goran Eriksson's team.

"They are one of the best teams in the world," he said. "We have to be more aggressive and need to be on alert on high balls because they are very strong in the air."

The Colombian-born coach also warned his players that they must learn lessons from the thrashing by Germany.

"If we do not learn our lesson from the Germany match we will have the same problems again," he added. "And then the score against England will be the same.

"We must correct what we did wrong against Germany and remember what we did right in the first two matches."

And Ecuador skipper Marlon Ayovi added: "Other national teams have already left the World Cup but Ecuador are still here."