Tah looks to future after Germany bow out

Despite finishing with the same number as points as Spain, Russia and the Netherlands, the UEFA European Under-19 Championship holders Germany failed to progress to the semi-finals this time.

In a group ultimately decided by goal difference, it was Germany's failure to find the back of the net more than three times in Greece that proved their undoing. Following their elimination with a 2-2 draw against Russia in Katerini, captain Jonathan Tah spoke to UEFA.com about where Germany fell short and how they can improve in future.

UEFA.com: You made a good start to the game against Russia and led 1-0, but then what happened?

Jonathan Tah: Despite going 1-0 ahead, we didn't have the stability and composure that we needed. We left too many gaps open for them; Russia are a good team and they took advantage.

UEFA.com: You showed the belief and strength to level having been 2-1 down, but in the end it was not quite enough…

Tah: We had our chances and we always believed in it. We proved against the Netherlands that we can turn games around late on, so we did believe we could do it again, but unfortunately it didn't work out this time and it's cost us our place in the semi-finals.

UEFA.com: How is the atmosphere in the dressing room after this elimination?

Tah: Of course, the atmosphere's not great in the dressing room and the lads have their heads hanging, but we've got to look to the future. We must aim to do things better next time, hoping that we get another chance to play in a tournament like this.

UEFA.com: What can you take out of this tournament for the future?

Tah: This is certainly going to help us for the future. You learn from tournaments like this and you learn from your defeats, to take the best you can from them.