Löw: France deserved to make it to the final. I also think that France will beat Portugal. Portugal haven’t been convincing so far. I thought France were good, but we were better.
Question: Did the second goal kill the game off?
Löw: We dominated the match in the second half. If we had taken the lead early we would have had the game in our hands and France wouldn’t have had a chance. The penalty was a shock and I had to calm the players down in the changing room. It was very difficult for us after that as France were strong on the counter. We showed courage and our team did really well all in all.
Question: How will you process everything?
Löw: It’s hard to answer that. We will speak on the phone with the players and coaching staff in two or three days and reflect on how the tournament went. Overall, it was a decent EURO and the team had a really positive energy. The standard was good. It should be a relatively short evaluation as I didn’t notice us making any mistakes.
Question: What did you think of Bastian Schweinsteiger’s performance?
Löw: He won a number of challenges in the first half and did well. I eventually had to take him off in the 70th or 80th minute. His performance was good overall, considering he has been out for a long time.
It’s a massive disappointment. The Germany national team’s dream of another title is over after losing 2-0 to hosts France in the EURO 2016 semi-final, despite showing fight and putting in a strong performance. They created a number of good goalscoring opportunities but simply couldn’t get the ball over the line. Manager Joachim Löw followed the game from the dugout and spoke about the defeat, the two goals and Bastian Schweinsteiger’s performance.
Question: Mr Löw, what went wrong during the loss to France?
Joachim Löw: Not much went wrong today. I can only speak highly of the team. We were the better side and had powerful body language. We were a bit unlucky to go behind. It’s unfortunate when the ball bounces up and hits you in the hand and a penalty is given. We didn’t have the necessary luck. We were a step ahead of the French.
Question: What is your view on the penalty just before the break?
Löw: I don’t comment of referees’ performances, it’s something that you have to accept and not get worked up about. There are rules for handball. He has challenged for the ball with his head and arm – it was an unfortunate action. I don’t place any blame on the player.
Question: What was the problem for the second goal?
Löw: You have to clear the ball out of the danger area quicker in that situation. We were dominant in midfield and we should have cleared up better. We gave our all and tried everything.
Question: Did France deserve to win?
Löw: France deserved to make it to the final. I also think that France will beat Portugal. Portugal haven’t been convincing so far. I thought France were good, but we were better.
Question: Did the second goal kill the game off?
Löw: We dominated the match in the second half. If we had taken the lead early we would have had the game in our hands and France wouldn’t have had a chance. The penalty was a shock and I had to calm the players down in the changing room. It was very difficult for us after that as France were strong on the counter. We showed courage and our team did really well all in all.
Question: How will you process everything?
Löw: It’s hard to answer that. We will speak on the phone with the players and coaching staff in two or three days and reflect on how the tournament went. Overall, it was a decent EURO and the team had a really positive energy. The standard was good. It should be a relatively short evaluation as I didn’t notice us making any mistakes.
Question: What did you think of Bastian Schweinsteiger’s performance?
Löw: He won a number of challenges in the first half and did well. I eventually had to take him off in the 70th or 80th minute. His performance was good overall, considering he has been out for a long time.
