Germany in two minds over draw

Mixed feelings
For much of the game at the Estádio do Dragão, Germany looked the better team and seemed to be heading for victory after Torsten Fring's first-half free-kick found its way into the net. However, a late equaliser from Ruud van Nistelrooij has provoked mixed emotions in the squad.

'Deserved to win'
"It was an outstanding tactical display yesterday and every team in the world will find it hard to beat us if we play that way, but sadly a late mistake cost us all three points," assistant coach Michael Skibbe said today. "I feel that we deserved to win and therefore I am disappointed. I am, however, very proud of the team because of the great commitment the players showed."

'We were in control'
Skibbe's comments were echoed by Kevin Kuranyi. "I don't really know whether to be disappointed or not," the VfB Stuttgart forward told euro2004.com. "We were in control of the game for a long time and definitely had the chance to win. We can be proud of that and happy with our display. Nonetheless we are obviously slightly disappointed with the result."

Frings thoughts
Goalscorer Frings, who today sealed a move from BV Borussia Dortmund to FC Bayern München, added: "On the one hand I am very happy with the way we played. After we lost our final friendly against Hungary none of us really knew where we stood. We definitely know now because we had a very good game, but I'm disappointed we didn't get the win we deserved."

Looking forward
However, as Skibbe stressed, now is the time to consign the Dutch match to the past and look forward. "We must start thinking of the game against Latvia now," he said. "And I'm sure we will win and go on to reach the quarter-finals."