Brazil or bust for Loew

Published: 29 Jun 2012 - 10:17:02

With a contract until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, coach Joachim Loew has said Germany has a bright future despite their Euro 2012 semi-final exit at the hands of Italy.

"The team has really developed well and we have won 15 games in a row," said Loew.

"We lost against an incredibly strong Italian team, so there's not any reason to have any doubts creep in here."

Having hammered England and Argentina en route to finishing third at the 2010 World Cup, the script was seemingly written for Loew's team to take the next step and confirm their status as pre-tournament favourites by winning the Kiev final.

But German fans may need more convincing after the Azzurri tore up the form book with two first-half goals to seal a 2-1 victory.