German coach Loew hails ‘grandiose’ display

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa — Germany executed its gameplan to perfection in a 4-1 second-round World Cup win over England on Sunday which coach Joachim Loew described as a "grandiose" performance.
The three-time champion essentially controlled the game but got a break when Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda refused to award a goal to Frank Lampard which would have allowed England to tie it at 2-2 before half time.
Lampard’s shot hit the underside of the crossbar and clearly bounced inside the line before being collected by the German goalkeeper, but Larrionda ruled for play to continue.
Lampard’s looping shot came one minute after Matthew Upson had pulled one back for England after Germany had taken control with goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski.
"We clearly controlled the game until England’s goal, then there was a short critical phase," said Loew, who outlined how his German squad had planned to unsettle the English defence. "We managed to expose the England defence.
"We wanted to get into the penalty area quickly and we did it a couple of times extraordinarily. We had a feeling in the second half that England was slowing down. We can change the pace any time."
With England searching for the tying goal in the second half, Thomas Mueller scored twice within four minutes to seal the victory that sent Germany to the quarter-finals.
Loew said England’s midfielders Steven Gerrard and Lampard always supported the forwards and "We knew there would be spaces."
"Our objective was to set (John) Terry up with (Miroslav) Klose to force him to come out of the defence. We knew the fullbacks would be very much to the side, and that would create space that we could penetrate."
Loew said his German team dominated so much it could have been leading 3-0 at halftime.
Klose muscled past England defender Matt Upson to score, while Podolski was left unmarked on the left wing after Germany carried the ball quickly down the opposite flank.
Mueller scored with England building pressure. Both goals came as Germany moved the ball at speed after gaining possession, leaving England’s defence looking tired.
"We used nearly every opportunity up front," Loew said. "We draw our strength from our quality."
Klose said the team was looking for a spot in the semifinals. First, Germany takes on Argentina — a 3-1 winner over Mexico in Sunday’s other second-round match — in a quarter-final match at Cape Town on Saturday.
"We were aggressive from the first minute and it was a deserved victory," Klose said. "Our target was to reach the semifinals and that’s what we want to achieve."
Germany has produced widely differing performances in its four games so far. After routing 10-man Australia 4-0 in its opening match, Germany lost 1-0 to Serbia and struggled to overcome Ghana 1-0.
The victory over England was Germany’s best so far and raises expectations, although Loew still refuses to cast his team as favourites to win the title.