Low praises German response

Germany coach Joachim Low was pleased with his side as they bounced back from defeat against England on Saturday to thrash Italy 4-1 at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

The world champions were in ominous form against the Italians, with goals from Toni Kroos, Mario Gotze, Jonas Hector and Mesut Ozil helping them to secure their first victory in the fixture since 1995.

The result also helped the Germans forget about their 3-2 defeat to England on Saturday, a match where Low’s side had held a 2-0 advantage with less than 30 minutes left to play.

The 56-year-old believes Tuesday’s success was the perfect way for his side to respond and he was delighted with the overall balance of his team’s performance in Munich.

He said: “We’ve not had something like this against Italy for a long time, but we played clever, defended well and attacked well. It was a good game from us tonight. All of our players fulfilled their jobs really well.”

Low also believes that his side learned a valuable lesson from their defeat to England and he is hopeful that will stand them in good stead ahead of this summer’s European Championships.

He added: “We were beating England 2-0 and we just lacked that concentration to go the distance and we were taught a lesson.”

Germany will face the Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland in Group C at Euro 2016, as they bid to add European glory to the world title they secured in 2014.

The Germans are on offer at 1.36 to finish top of their group at the finals, while they are priced at 1.01 to qualify for the knockout stages.