Oliver Bierhoff has urged Germany's players to respond in the correct way when they face an "aggressive" Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday.

The two teams clashed in 2006 after Germany had recorded a victory on penalties in the quarter-finals of that summer's tournament, but Bierhoff has underlined the importance of not straying from the gameplan put in place by head coach Joachim Low.

"The Argentinians are very warm people and great hosts, but on the pitch they have a bit of a personality change and get fired up," Germany's team manager told reporters. "They have fire in their eyes, which we will have to be ready for and not provoke them.

"They play hard, aggressive physical football, which means we can't steer away from our football philosophy and must focus on what we have to do."

Sunday's game will be the second World Cup final Bierhoff has been involved in after he played in the 2002 defeat to Brazil.