Emre Can says he and his Liverpool team-mates have been joshing with each other in advance of England’s match with Germany on Friday but he stresses there is no chance of him taking the friendly lightly – not with the ferocious competition for places in the Germany squad.

Can knows he must seize every opportunity to impress Joachim Löw, who has such a plethora of talent that the squad he picks for next summer’s World Cup will necessarily exclude players who would be starters for most countries.

“[The competition for places] helps because you always have to be ready, always giving 100%,” Can said. “If you have one bad season, maybe you aren’t in the squad. That’s normal because we have so many good young players, a big, big pool of players.”

Germany’s strength in Can’s position seems particularly lavish in a week when Gareth Southgate considers that the absence of Jordan Henderson opens doors for international rookies such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jake Livermore. Can is one of several players vying for a spot in midfield where the established starters, such as Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira, have won the World Cup.

Even they are under pressure to ensure their performances do not drop. When Löw omitted his top players for the summer’s Confederations Cup, Can and Sebastian Rudy helped Germany win the tournament, as did Leon Goretzka, the 22-year-old Schalke midfielder who is out injured but will be back in time for the World Cup. In addition, Manchester City’s Ilkay Gündogan has returned to Germany’s squad for Friday’s match at Wembley following a year’s absence with a cruciate ligament injury.

“We went to the Confederations Cup with a young team so I don’t think many people expected us to win that. We played a lot of players who hadn’t been in the national team,” Can said. “So to win it, playing a great tournament, [means] a lot of nations have respect. The under-21s also won [the European Championship] so everyone can see how big and how good the group is in Germany.”

Last month Can, who has 18 caps, scored his first goal for his country in the 5-1 victory over Azerbaijan. He started that match and aims to make that a regular occurrence.

“It’s not always easy to come to the national team and be on the bench,” he said. “I try to show myself at Liverpool and when I come to the national team I try to show myself in training or in games. It’s my second year here and one day I want to be a starting player. It won’t be easy. But that’s why I try.”

Can must deal with a complication that is not faced by Germany midfielders who are not based in England. “It’s different if you have a two-week break in winter. For example, last year when the Bundesliga had a break we [at Liverpool] had 10 games in that time. That is a big difference. Sometimes you just need to speak to your manager to get a few days off because your body will need it.”

Can is well placed to know there are signs that England, too, are developing greater strength in depth. Several of his young team-mates at Anfield have international ambitions and Southgate has selected one of them, Joe Gomez, for the latest squad.

“Last year he wasn’t always lucky with injuries but this season he has come back strong,” said Can of his 20-year-old club-mate. “He has always played well, both at right-back and at centre-back. He deserves to play for the national team. I hope the others will go the same way. Dom Solanke is there. [Liverpool] have a lot of good young players and I hope they will all go the same way as Joe.”

If they do, it will be partly thanks to a German, Jürgen Klopp. “You can see the belief he has in Joe. Last year he had the injuries but when he came back and had a very good pre-season, the trainer showed belief in him and now he is playing regularly. So you can see how you can deal with it at a club who always has young players.”