Jose Mourinho has urged Germany coach Joachim Low to field Bayern Munich pair Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger in his starting XI against USA.
Germany and USA meet in Recife on Thursday with a place in the World Cup round of 16 at stake.
Thus far in Brazil, Low has started with captain Lahm at the base of his midfield in games against Portugal and Ghana at the expense of Schweinsteiger, and is expected to do so again versus the United States.
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However, Mourinho, speaking in his role as Yahoo's global football ambassador, feels Germany would benefit from playing Schweinsteiger in the middle and Lahm at the back.
"My instinct as a coach is that the best Germany is when Schweinsteiger gives the stability that the team needs in midfield," Mourinho said.
"At the same time, I was always a huge fan of Philipp [Lahm] when he was playing right-back and left-back. Because I think defensively he is strong, but at the same time he creates so many unbalanced situations for the opponents when he plays the right side or even on the left side.
"So, I would like to see Philipp as a full-back and Schweinsteiger in the midfield, but it's just a simple opinion and Joachim is better than any one of us and knows the reasons why he chooses the players."
A draw would be enough to see both USA and Germany progress to the round of 16, but Mourinho is confident that Low's side will go for the win, a result that would give his native Portugal a chance to go through.
"No. No. I don't believe that [Germany and USA will play for a draw]. I just believe they will play in a pragmatic way," Mourinho said. "In the case of Germany, I think it's more than obvious that it's not just to qualify, but it's also to finish first.
"United States is a little bit different in my opinion. I think the second position would be a fantastic achievement for them, and probably they have to play against Germany with an eye on the screen looking for the result of Portugal-Ghana.
"Maybe one goal can decide absolutely everything, but I think really that Germany knows that they're the strongest team in the group. And, clearly, they know that by winning [they will have] seven points [and be] top of the group. They don't play against Belgium, which is the strong team in the other group, and they will wait for the second team coming from the Belgium group."