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Following Thursday’s Euro 2016 semi-final defeat against France, Germany coach Joachim Low believes his team were unlucky to exit the tournament even though they failed to find the net against Les Bleus.
Despite dominating the opening period of the match, Die Mannschaft fell behind to an Antoine Griezmann penalty moments before half-time after Bastian Schweinsteiger was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area.
Atletico Madrid forward Griezmann doubled his tally and his side’s lead midway through the second half to earn Les Bleus a place in Sunday’s final against Portugal in Paris despite a late onslaught from the Germans.
“We were the better team,” Low told UEFA.com. “We put in a lot of effort, showed good body language, got forward and were good in one on ones. We were unfortunate to concede a penalty a minute before half-time, that was bad luck.
“We had our chances but didn’t score. Today we didn’t have the luck we needed; in 2010 and 2012 when we went out, the sides were better than us. Today we were better than the French but for the goals and result.”
Low was quick to praise his team’s spirit and the attitude of the player’s, particularly those who did not feature in France, before admitting there is not much he would change about their performance.
“This was a good tournament for us,” he added. “We have great energy in this side, they showed great effort – also in training in Evian.
“It was impressive how players who didn’t play helped the side, so there’s going to be a short analysis but I haven’t seen too many errors in this tournament from us. Overall, we have a great side.”
Didier Deschamps’ outfit will be hoping to emulate France’s 1984 squad, who achieved European Championship success on home soil.
