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Germany can improve despite 'high-quality' Spain draw - Joachim Low
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Joachim Low has no doubt there is more to come from both
Germany and Spain after the two World Cup hopefuls played out an
entertaining 1-1 friendly draw in Dusseldorf.
In
a mouth-watering showdown between the two most recent world champions,
Spain took an early lead through Rodrigo before Thomas Muller smashed
home an unstoppable equaliser 10 minutes before the break.
Germany
had the better chances to win the game in the second half, but Spain
goalkeeper David De Gea produced brilliant saves to deny Julian Draxler
and Ilkay Gundogan while Mats Hummels sent a looping header against the
crossbar.
Spain also went close through Isco, who was
denied at point-blank range by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Diego Costa as
honours finished even at a sold-out Esprit Arena.
Germany
coach Low was satisfied with the night's work from his side, but
believes the defending world champions and 2010 World Cup winners Spain
still have room to improve.
He said in quotes reported by www.dfb.de: "I thought it was a great test for both teams.
"We can learn a lot from tonight, that's why we wanted to
play against teams like Spain and Brazil. You can only truly gauge
yourself as a team when you face the best.
"However, we
still want to push on and improve. We can go up another gear and I think
both teams haven't shown their full hand yet.
"It was a very high-quality game and I think the fans can be happy with what they've seen tonight.''
Germany
midfielder Toni Kroos, who plays his club football in Spain for Real
Madrid, believes a draw was the right result between the two footballing
superpowers, who both remain unbeaten since Euro 2016.
He
said: "Spain were on top for the first 20 minutes and deserved to be
ahead. Then, we got a foothold on the ball and, in turn, the game.
"All in all, it was a fair result. It was a good game of football. We're putting in a solid level of performance.''
Spain
needed just six minutes to take the lead when Andres Iniesta picked out
Rodrigo's run into the box and the Valencia man coolly fired past Ter
Stegen.
Germany roared back though, and equalised in
memorable fashion when Muller found the top corner of De Gea's net with a
25-yard thunderbolt.
Spain coach Julen Lopetegui, who has yet to taste defeat in 17 matches in charge of La Roja, said of the match in AS: "The overall feeling is very good.
"We
were playing against the best team in the world currently, a team with a
lot of motivation and we've felt it. We've played a good game, we had
chances to win and so did they.
"To come to Germany and
dominate for 90 minutes is difficult, but the team have had personality,
ambition and we've played our trump cards trying to win the game, as
always at any ground and against any opponent.
"The
team is on a very good path and these games help us to continue growing
to be at the optimum level when the World Cup arrives.''
Spain
captain Sergio Ramos, winning his 150th cap, added: "A great game for
football lovers. We played a complete first half, with great effort
because the team we were facing demand that of you.
"They are the world champions and you can feel that. They are one of the favourites to win the World Cup.''
Spain
goalscorer Rodrigo added that he dedicated his strike to Santiago
Canizares following the death of the ex-Spain keeper's son.
"I wanted to dedicate the goal to Canizares, to wish him all the best," Rodrigo said.
"We are all with him at this moment."
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