Lukas Podolski blasts 'stupid' Euro 2016 group stages: Our tournament starts now

CONFIDENT: Podolski's not worried who Germany face in the next round

Podolski reckons changes to the group stage rules after the expansion of Euro 2016 were unfair on teams like Albania, who had to wait days before learning if they were through to the last 16.

But now that the minnow nations are tumbling out and the Germans are on the march following a 3-0 win over Slovakia, Podolski can’t wait for the business end of the competition to start.

The former Arsenal star said: “The group stage was a little bit strange because UEFA did some stupid things with the system. But now the tournament starts.

"It's not about the smaller teams, it's about the decisions. Some teams waited three days in the camp for a decision.

"You lose the first two games and you still have a chance to get through to the next round, so it is a bit confused. But for us it doesn’t matter.

"We have the power, we have the quality, we are in the quarter-final and this is important."