Germany

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Low hails Germany show

20 Jun 2008 - 09:57:16

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Germany coach Joachim Low hailed his side's performance in their 3-2 Euro 2008 quarter-final victory over much-fancied Portugal.

Most pundits had expected the Germans to be heading home after the game in Basel, but Low's side upset the odds with an assured display under the guidance of assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick.

Low had been forced to watch from an executive box, as he served a touchline ban for a clash with Austria coach Josef Hickersberger during their Group B clash.

Low said: "We had a lot of courage, had good combinations, moved well without the ball. All the things that we've done well in the past we did.

"Hans-Dieter did a great job. There were some things during the match he did absolutely right, like putting Michael Ballack a bit further back when there was a phase where they put us under some pressure.

"After the Austria match we saw we had to make some changes. We wanted to close down the space in Portugal's midfield. We succeeded in doing that."

Of his own predicament of having to watch the game from the stands, Low added: "Sitting behind the window in the stands was really difficult. It is too far from the action."