Lviv: Germany coach Joachim Loew thanked Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho for playing a crucial role in developing the German players.

Loew said he had a chat with Mourinho, who appeared in the stands at the Lviv Arena to watch his four players - Germany's Sami Khedeira and Mesut Ozil and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Fabio Coentrao.

Loew said he thanked a lot for the Portuguese's help to develop his Khedeira and Ozil at Bernabeu. Ozil was Man of the Match in Germany's 1-0 win over Portugal.
"The last things he said was his boys were good. Sami (Khedira) was good in defense and Mesut (Oezil) was good in attack. In Madrid, he really developed them. We actually talked a lot this season," Loew was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The victory moved Germany to lead the group together with Denmark, who upset the tournament favourite the Netherlands 1-0.

Germany next play the Netherlands and Denmark will meet Portugal.

Low compared the competitions in the dubbed "death group" including the Netherlands and Denmark to a F1 race.

"The start of this like a F1 race. You have to be ready in straight way. You cannot warm up. You have to win the first three points. It's very, very important.

"We were much more compact and disciplined. Maybe we could attack a bit better. But the main thing is we won," he said. (IANS)