Germany must force Spain into errors: Loew

Erasmia, South Africa: Coach Joachim Loew says Spain is the strongest team Germany has faced at the World Cup and the only way to beat the European champions is to force them into mistakes.

Spain has been the most consistent team of the past two or three years and is the favourite for the World Cup title, Loew said on Monday.

But he believes Germany can beat any opponent, including a Spain team whose passing game he praised as a model for his own style.

Germany lost to Spain 1-0 in the final of the 2008 European Championship and the two sides meet in the semifinal of the World Cup on Wednesday in Durban.

"We are not speaking of revenge, that hasn't been on my mind at all. We lost the final in 2008 because we were beaten by the best team of the time," Loew said.

"But we have hope that we can win. For me, Spain is the favourite for the title. It has been the most consistent team of the past two or three years and has played at a very high level. Spain has not one Messi, but several Messis who can decide a game," Loew said.

Loew was referring to Argentina star Lionel Messi, who was virtually shut out of the game when Germany routed Argentina 4-0 in the quarterfinals. Germany also eliminated England 4-1 and has scored the most goals, 13, while displaying perhaps the best football at the tournament.

Spain, however, will be a tough challenge, Loew said.

"They make almost no mistakes but we have to force them into making errors," said Loew, who devised masterful tactics to beat England and Argentina, seizing on the two teams' defensive liabilities.

"Spain is very strong as a unit, both in offense and defense, they have several players who can decide games and tactically they are very good. But at the moment we are capable of beating everyone."

Loew said Germany's technical skills allow the team to dominate for the entire game.

"We always try to be a constant offensive threat and to convince with our skills," Loew said. "And Spanish football also places a lot of importance on technical skill. Their passing game is a celebration of football and how easy they make it look is a a model for me."

Loew said the mood in the team was very good, "but not euphoric" after its convincing wins against England and Argentina.

Germany will be missing Thomas Mueller, one of its two top scorers with four goals, who is suspended. Backup striker Cacau remains questionable with a back problem.

The semifinal will feature two of the leading scorers of the tournament, David Villa of Spain with five and Germany's Miroslav Klose with four.

Loew said they were too different players to compare, "but both have shown great finishing qualities."

Klose needs one goal to pull even with Brazil's Ronaldo as the top World Cup scorer of all time with 15.

But Villa was not Spain's only threat, Loew said, singling out the midfield led by Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.

"They control the ball so well, you have to keep them under constant pressure," Loew said.

Germany's central midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has stood out for his team at the tournament, says Spain has the making of a top team because it can win even when it does not play at its best.

"They such great skills and they control the tempo so well," he said.

Schweinsteiger also said that Germany was not looking for revenge.

"We have different players now, while Spain is almost the same. Maybe they have not shone at the tournament, but they have played very strongly over the past few years," he said.

"Spain will be tougher than England or Argentina, but we've shown that we can be very good."