Germany boss Low concedes defeat to a better Spanish team

Germany manager Joachim Low has conceded that his side simply came up against a better opponent in the World Cup semi-finals.

Spain got the job done over the Germans who had taken England and Argentina before them and Low, who pulled together a relatively young group of players to take them to the final four, said there was no shame in losing to the best team in the world.

“All credit to the Spanish. They've been the best team around in the last two or three years, and I think they'll win the tournament. They're just such good footballers, and that showed up our current limitations today,” Low said.

“They stifled us in certain areas, and we were never able to break free. Their passing game is so good, you spend practically all your time just chasing the ball. We were unable to win possession in the key areas which would have allowed us to switch from defence to attack at speed.

“Overall, my young team has had a magnificent tournament, but it's not worked out the way we wanted it today. It's a shame, we're sad, and we're all disappointed, but at the end of the day, Spain were terrific.”