Germany ride their luck to qualify

The FIFA World Cup holders made hard work of reaching the UEFA EURO 2016 finals, with their automatic qualification in doubt until late in their decisive 2-1 defeat of Georgia on Sunday that wrapped up top spot in Group D.

Fresh from victory in Brazil, Germany began qualifying with a similarly narrow 2-1 defeat of Scotland and in October fell 2-0 in Poland before being held 1-1 by the Republic of Ireland.

Their form then picked up, but Thursday's last-gasp 1-0 loss in Ireland left Germany still needing at least a point against Georgia, and despite a scare when the visitors equalised and went in search of a winner, the home team prevailed thanks to Max Kruse's 79th-minute goal. Safely through at last, they are sure to be one of the favourites in France.

Reaction
Joachim Löw, Germany coach
We can sing the same song as three days ago in Dublin. We are too neglectful with our chances and that can lead to frustration among the players. Meanwhile our opponents stay alert and feel they can get a result with just one counterattack. We're like a boxer at the moment. We're landing punches but we're not knocking the opponent out.

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We won the group and can be happy about that, but I am not satisfied with the last two matches. It will take some hard work to get back to the level of performances at the World Cup. But there is a long way to go until the EURO and we know that a long period of preparation will do us a lot of good.

Tactically there are a few things we need to consider. Our style of play will remain mostly the same, but there are some details that need adjusting. It is not our style to send long balls into the box; it would be better to approach the opponents' goal with combination play. But at the EURO we will meet teams which will take us on as well, not like some of the defensive teams we have met recently.

Max Kruse, Germany forward
It wasn't pretty to look at, especially after the equaliser. Georgia had one or two excellent opportunities. We know this wasn't our best performance. But it's a fact that we are group winners and we will be back to old strengths come EURO.

Toni Kroos, Germany midfielder
During this qualifying campaign we had to make a few changes in the team and it is obvious that not everything would run smoothly after that. But still I feel that from our style of play we had a couple of good matches, we just didn't reward ourselves often enough.

Manuel Neuer, Germany goalkeeper
I had to be very alert today. It felt like we didn't play against Georgia, but rather against Italy or Spain given how many chances they had.

Key stats
Final tournaments: 11 (most recent 2012)
Best result: winners 1972, 1980 (as West Germany), 1996
Coach: Joachim Löw
Leading scorers: all-time – Miroslav Klose (71); current – Lukas Podolski (48)
Most appearances: all-time – Lothar Matthäus (150); current – Lukas Podolski (126)

Record EURO appearances
Overall: Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski (36)
Final tournament: Philipp Lahm (14)

Record EURO goals
Overall: Miroslav Klose (19)
Final tournament: Jürgen Klinsmann (5)