Lukas Podolski turned 27 earlier in June; on Sunday he wins his 100th cap for Germany. The £11million that Arsenal have paid Cologne for Podolski has bought relative youth and vast experience. Arsenal have also purchased versatility and personality. All in all, ‘Poldi’ packs a punch.

On the leafy outskirts of Gdansk, Podolski smiled his way through a busy press conference prior to an occasion in Lviv against Denmark that the German FA official beside Podolski described as his ‘jubilee match’.

Germany require a point to ensure they top Group B and remain in the former Prussian city they still refer to as Danzig for the quarter-final. There they would meet the runners-up of Group A — Poland’s group.

Smart: Lukas Podolski spoke well on Friday

That would have particular resonance for Podolski, who was born in Poland near Katowice four years before the fall of the Berlin Wall to Polish parents. But Podolski’s grandparents had  German nationality and the family moved to what was West Germany when he was two.

When asked to select his international highlights yesterday, Podolski nominated scoring against Poland in 2008, but not in a mean way. ‘Poland is close to my heart, I hope they go through,’ he said.

He also mentioned his debut in 2004, which came two days after his 19th birthday against Hungary in Kaiserslautern, and his first German goals, which came on a tour of Thailand. There was no reference to his goal against England in Bloemfontein at the last World Cup.

‘I feel fantastic,’ he beamed, ‘not simply because of  having 99 caps and about to have 100, but because from day one with Germany I have loved it.’

There are a  combination of Group B results that would see Germany exit the tournament — a 1-0 win for Denmark and a 1-0 win for Portugal against Holland for example — and their last  competitive meeting with the Danes was the final of this competition in 1992, which Germany lost.

But after group victories over the Portuguese and the Dutch, the mood yesterday was far from  pessimistic or nervous. Mario Gomez fielded questions about the ‘dream final’ against Spain.

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