Schweinsteiger gutted by semi defeat

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose have spoken of their disappointment at Germany’s Euro 2012 elimination at the hands of Italy.

Italy triumphed 2-1 in Thursday’s semi-final, with Mesut Oezils late penalty not enough to cancel out Mario Balotellis first-half double and, in truth, Cesare Prandelli’s side could have added several more as Germany searched for a lifeline in the second half.

Schweinsteiger rued the defensive errors that allowed the Manchester City striker to pounce, pointing out the second goal originated from a Germany set-piece, while he was also frustrated at his own profligacy and that of his team-mates.

“Of course we are disappointed and sad that we lost the game. We all hoped for something else,” Schweinsteiger told ADR.

“Unfortunately, this match did not go the way we imagined. We had the chances to take the lead, then we fell behind in an unnecessary situation.

“Then the second goal came from a break after our set-play. That really should not happen because we all know that Balotelli is a player who plays on the last man in the offside trap.”

Lazio forward Klose was similarly despondent about the result, claiming Germany had not lived up to the expectations they created before the tournament.

He also suggested the nation’s poor record against Italy may have been playing on the minds of some players.

“The hurdle of Italy was a little bit too high. We have failed to do what we are capable of doing,” he said.

“Maybe it was the respect that we had for them, maybe the fact that we had never won against the Italians in a major tournament was in the back of our minds.”