German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer admitted the best team won on the night as his team were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the World Cup semi-final (Germany 7/10 to beat Uruguay in third place play-off).

Neuer was powerless to stop Carles Puyol’s 73rd minute bullet header on a night the Germans were clearly below par.

“It’s a big disappointment for us. We could have won but we didn’t, but this is football,” Neuer told the press after the game.

“Now we are in the third place play-off, but we would have preferred to be in the final.”

Neuer said his side just didn’t do enough to win the game.

“We had little courage and little chances, we attacked more in other games, but we have to look forward now,” he added.

“Spain left us little spaces, and had lots of chances, they deservedly beat us. I wish them the best for the final.”

Germany captain Philipp Lahm, who was captaining the side in Michael Ballack’s absence, admitted after the full-time whistle Spain deserved to progress.

“It was very difficult tonight,” said the Bayern Munich defender.

“We knew Spain were a favourite to win the tournament. Spain is a very strong team.

“We didn’t play courageously enough in the first half. We had a chance in the second but weren’t able to use it.

“It’s a huge disappointment. We wanted to do a lot and didn’t succeed.”

Meanwhile, the German press went into mourning after the game as their side lost out on the chance to win their first title since 1990.

“It’s finished. It’s over. We’re out,” cried Germany’s most-read paper, Bild.

“The whole of Germany is now upset and tears are flowing up and down the country,” the paper said, adding, with unusual fairness: “No matter how tough it may be to accept, the defeat was deserved.”

“Our guys tried everything. But unfortunately, we just didn’t get the right chances. These Spanish, we have to admit, were simply too good for us.”

“1-0. Germany weeps” wrote the Hamburger Abendblatt.

“The fairy-tale is over” said weekly Die Zeit on its website.

Frankfurter Allgemeine said that Germany’s “dream journey” had ended and Spiegel magazine said on its website “Spain destroys Germany’s dreams of reaching a final.”

Spiegel online judged that the team were “anxious, nervous and played as if hindered.”

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung was also critical of Joachim Loew’s players.

“The German team showed too much respect for the Spanish and weren’t able to push their opponents back enough.”

Berlin’s “BZ” chose to look more optimistically towards the future, with hopes high for Germany’s young team that probably exceeded expectations in this World Cup.

“Shame, boys. But you’ll be back,” it said on its website.

“It was still a great World Cup.”

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