Germany not their best this year in EURO

Germany were unable to follow up their triumph at the 2014 World Cup with victory at Euro 2016, Joachim Low's men knocked out by France at the semi-final stage.

Antoine Griezmann's brace was enough to see the hosts through to Sunday's showpiece, where they will face Portugal at the Stade de France, with Germany second best for much of the game.

France had started on top but Germany recovered from a slow opening to take control of the first half, but they could not find a way through the resilient French defence.

The decision of the Italian referee, Nicola Rizzoli, to award a penalty for a handball by Bastian Schweinsteiger proved to be a key moment in the game as Griezmann converted from 12 yards.

Low's side again dominated the ball after half-time, but they found France too hard to break down and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had little to do as he was so well protected by his back line.

Muller's Euro jinx

With Mario Gomez injured, Thomas Muller was asked to play up front against France and the Bayern Munich star struggled to get to grips with the role.

It had already been a tough tournament for the versatile forward, who had seemed strangely out of sorts throughout the competition even as his side moved through the stages easily.

Muller has been prolific both domestically and internationally - he scored five goals at the 2010 World Cup and the same number two years ago as his team won the title - but he has never been able to score a single goal in the European Championship.

The 26-year-old's touch was poor in the semi-final and he snatched at a couple of good sights of goal, with Germany badly missing Gomez, their top scorer at the finals with just two goals.

Griezmann's unerring ability in front of goal proved to be the difference between the teams in the semi-final as Muller had no impact on the match.

Low point for Joachim

Since his appointment as coach of the German national team, Low's side have reached the semi-finals of every major international tournament, but the 2014 World Cup was certainly the highlight of his reign, Mario Gotze's goal sealing victory over Argentina in the final.

Low insisted his team deserved more than their 2-0 loss after recording 70 per cent possession against France, even though they struggled for penetration against a compact home defence.

"We had our chances but didn't score," said the coach. "Today we didn't have the luck we needed; in 2010 and 2012 when we went out, the sides were better than us.

"Today we were better than the French but for the goals and result."

Low refused to confirm he will stay on as Germany's coach, prompting suggestions his 10-year reign could be coming to an end.

It has arguably been a period of unfulfilled potential for the nation, who have been beaten in the semi-finals of the last two European Championships and lost the 2008 final to Spain.

However, Low will argue that the consistency shown by the team, coupled with the development of young talent such as Emre Can, Joshua Kimmich and Leroy Sane, suggests the future is bright.