We deserved more, says Germany coach Loew

Jul 7, 2016 - 10:57 PM Germany were the better team in their 2-0 loss to France in the Euro 2016 semi-finals on Thursday, coach Joachim Loew said as he cursed his team's bad luck for costing them a place in the final.

The world champions went into the game with three players ruled out by injuries and suspension and they lost key defender Jerome Boateng in the second half.

They dominated the first half, however, before an Antoine Griezmann penalty put the tournament hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time.

"There weren't too many things that went wrong," Loew said.

"We were the better team. We invested a lot and had good body language. We were powerful. It was unfortunate that we conceded the goal. It was bad luck," he added.

"We had our chances, but sadly we didn't score. We didn't have the luck needed today. (When we went out) in 2012 or 2010, the sides were better than us, but today that wasn't the case," he said.

Loew felt the departure of the injured Boateng had been significant.

"The side did everything I told them. There is nothing to blame them for," he said.

The penalty turned the game but Loew was reluctant to criticise Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli.

"I don't say anything about referees' decisions. You have to accept them. I don't know if it was a penalty. If you see how he approached the ball, it touched his hand, but it was bad luck," he said.

"There is nothing to blame him for, but the hand up there you can say it shouldn't be there. There are movements and you can't control them," Loew added.

Loew said it was too soon to talk about his own future.

Source: AAP