Don’t write off Germany : Low
Munich: Germany were roundly written off after their opening Euro 2020 1-0 defeat by France. That loss left them facing the real prospect of crashing out of a second successive major tournament at the group stage, a threat that only intensified when they fell behind to Portugal yesterday.
But the Germans hit back in style to fire four goals past the defending champions 4-2 and put their route to the last 16 back in their own hands.
Manager Joachim Low said teams should not write off the Germans.
“You can never write Germany off. "We are allowed to feel a little euphoria” the 31-year-old said.
“It’s just fun playing in this atmosphere. The cauldron is boiling.
“Now we have the three points, we are well in the tournament and have it in our own hands. We mustn’t get carried away and become arrogant, but we must believe in our quality.
“We were still looking for balance after the France match and knew that we had to add a gear to create more chances.
“We fought brilliantly and showed great morale. We had a lot of good attacks against a really strong opponent.
They face Hungary on Thursday, while Portugal are left needing something against France - with all teams having everything to play for in a thrilling finale.
Coach Santos takes blame for loss
Fernando Santos insists he is to blame for Portugal’s defeat in Munich after making an error with his midfield calculations.
“We just tweaked our midfield tactics for the match. We just wanted to press the midfield players - Gundogan and Kroos - and we wanted our fullbacks to drive forward,” Santos said.
“But it was clear to see that we were always short of an extra man in the midfield and were pushed back. It was my strategy and I’m fully responsible for it.
“In the first half, they suffered just two fouls. If we can’t stop them, if we have issues having possession, then we have problems.”
He added: “The players should have been able to cover the right-hand side. But I don’t want to blame them.”-Evening