Germany midfielder Toni Kroos insists England can win the European Championships

Germany midfielder Toni Kroos believes England have a good chance of winning Euro 2016, and insists the world champions are taking Saturday's friendly clash seriously.

Kroos' side take on Roy Hodgson's men in Berlin, three days before taking on Italy.

And the Real Madrid midfielder sees the matches as a real chance to assess their rivals ahead of this summer's European Championships, and while there are no points on offer, says Germany are eager to win.

"England are a very good team and have a good chance this summer," said Kroos.

"If you look at their squad they've clearly got some good players. They know what they're doing and have fast attacking players.

"They may only be friendlies, but we want to try and win."

The international break comes as the club football season enters its business end, with the Champions League entering the quarter-final stage and the domestic league titles still up for grabs.

Kroos accepts that the break is perhaps more beneficial to coach Joachim Low, but insists it is an important time for the players too.

"The games represent a good opportunity for the manager to gain more of an insight and to try and few things out," he added.

"It's important that we are together for four days and that we can challenge ourselves against two very good sides.

"We all know that it's crunch time with our respective clubs, but from the middle of May we will all be 100 per cent focused on the Euros."

One player Germany will not be able to call upon is captain Bastian Schweinsteiger. That is after the Manchester United midfielder was ruled out for a number of weeks with a knee injury.

Schweinsteiger is now doubtful for the Euros, and Bayern Munich striker Thomas Muller is hoping they will not be without the experienced midfielder.

"It is of course very frustrating for him and for us. He injured himself in the very first training back, which is disappointing," he said.

"There's still a bit of time left until the Euros, but it's hard to say now how long he will need to make a full recovery.

"Anything is possible though, and it's important to have the captain on board this summer.

"He can help us, regardless of whether he plays from the first or third match. You saw that at the World Cup."

Muller also believes Bayern team-mate Mario Gotze can have an impact at the European Championships

That is despite the 23-year old, who scored the winner in the 2014 World Cup final, enduring a difficult season with the Bundesliga leaders which has led to speculation about him leaving in the summer.

"Ultimately a player's quality can only be judged on their current performances," he added.

"It doesn't matter what players have done in the past. Mario adds a lot to our squad, as he always has done.

"The situation at Bayern has nothing to do with what he can do for us here.

"This year at Bayern we have had seven or eight players competing for about three positions in the starting eleven.

"I hope that he is able to prove the doubters wrong with some impressive performances for Germany."