It was difficult for everyone out there and the players are exhausted. It was a very tactical game in the first half, but after the break it was much more cut and thrust. We wanted to avoid it becoming too open a match in these temperatures. After going in front we wanted to stay compact, but then they scored two goals out of the blue. The side reacted well to that though. We wanted to force them higher up the pitch but they played well and always got back behind the ball very quickly. After regaining possession we weren’t purposeful enough going forward at times and that prevented us getting behind their defence. I think [Bastian] Schweinsteiger and [Miroslav] Klose breathed new life into the game; [Sami] Khedira and [Mario] Gotze were on their last legs. It was great that Miro got the goal. At this tournament you can’t expect to attack all the time in every game. A solid defence is the foundation in these temperatures so as not to leave yourself too exposed. Now we’ll have to wait and see what happens between Portugal and USA tomorrow. Things haven’t changed too much from our point of view, but of course we want to stay top of the standings.
