Low happy with progress

Germany's Joachim Low believes his side are growing into the tournament after they qualified for the quarter-finals.

Bayer Leverkusen defender repays faith of Germany coach

Germany coach Joachim Low believes his side are growing into the tournament after they qualified for the quarter-finals with a 100 per cent record. Goals from Lukas Podolski and Lars Bender were sandwiched by a strike from Denmark's Michael Krohn-Dehli. The win now sets Low's team up for a clash against Greece in the last eight, having finished Group B with maximum points. "There is a certain maturing process that has happened so far this tournament," said Low.

Development

"We were not quite so good with the overall organisation. The team has gone through a development process." Bender was the hero of the evening for the Germans as he calmly slotted home an 80th minute winner. He was only in the team as a replacement for the suspended Jerome Boateng and has now given Low a selection headache with an assured display. "It is something special for me," said Bender of his goal. "It's a wonderful present to come in top in this group.

Success

"There were positive spirits out there tonight. We were focused on getting a goal. It was a bit of luck that the ball came to me but you don't think a lot about it, you just shoot it in." Despite scoring the vital goal for his country, the Bayer Leverkusen full-back refused to accept any individual praise and instead emphasised the importance of the team. "The coach put his faith in me and I was relatively relaxed about it all," he added. "I'm happy that I got to play tonight and it was crowned with a goal which is a great present for me. The important thing is that the team continues playing successfully and I'm happy to play."