Result was fair, says Loew

Germany coach Joachim Loew was satisfied with the 1-1 draw against Italy on Wednesday, despite seeing his side concede a late equaliser.

Chasing their first win over Italy in 16 years, Germany took the lead thanks to a first-half Miroslav Klose strike, but the Azzurri rallied through a Giuseppe Rossi goal nine minutes from full-time.

Loew labelled the draw a fair result given that both sides had their chances to seal victory.

“I think that it was an entertaining test match which both squads tried to win,” Loew said.

“Our team played well for some of the match, the Italians had some good phases as well. There were always these ups and downs in the match concerning dominance.”

While satisfied with Italy’s display, Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli conceded that there is a notable gap in quality between the two sides.

“We are very satisfied with our work today,” Prandelli said.

“Of course we are not at the same level as the German team. We were able to close the gap, but it is still relatively large.”

“Our performance must become more consistent and we will continue working on that,” he added.