体坛英语新闻：Loew: "Muller makes it look easy"

RECIFE, Brazil, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Germany coach Joachim Loew lavished praise on Thomas Muller after the attacker scored the winning goal in his team's 1-0 victory over the United States on Thursday.

Muller's 55th-minute strike took his World Cup tally to four and level with Lionel Messi and Neymar as the tournament's top scorers.

"Even during our preparations Thomas Muller was in great shape both physically and mentally," Low said during the post-match press conference at Arena Pernambuco.

"He' s a very intelligent player and it' s very difficult to defend against him. He makes everything look so easy. He' s very valuable for us."

The victory sealed top spot in Group G for Germany with two wins and a draw from their three matches so far.

The US finished second, above Portugal on goal difference, with one win and a draw.

Low allayed concerns about Sami Khedira, insisting his decision to leave the Real Madrid midfielder on the bench was not due to injury.

"It was a good opportunity to give Sami a rest," Low said, adding that he was pleased with the performance of his other midfielders.

"We were well organized today and dominated the match. We didn' t let USA have a chance on our goal right up to the final whistle. We were strong in midfield and that' s where we put them under pressure."

Muller, who was awarded the Man of The Match award said he was reveling in the role of Germany's attacking spearhead.

"Four goals in three games? It feels good because it means you can rely on your own ability," he said. "I' m enjoying it a lot. I hope I can contribute to us going as far as possible and maybe even going all the way."

US coach Jurgen Klinsmann was in an exuberant mood, despite the result at Arena Pernambuco.

He said his team had been afflicted by nerves against their more distinguished opponents.

"It' s a great achievement to get out of this group and into the knockout rounds," Klinsmann said. "It was a difficult game, both physically and mentally, because the knowledge that a draw would be enough was always at the back of our minds.

"We were a bit too nervous and showed them too much respect at the start but we calmed down as the match wore on. We' ve got a great team and we put in a superb performance.

"It was one of the most difficult groups at the tournament. Ghana and Portugal are good teams and Germany are one of the favorites to win the title. We' re still learning and growing as a team. Now everything starts from scratch again because the knockout rounds are very different."