German Sunday newspapers praised the national team for recovering to beat Uruguay 3-2 in the World Cup playoff for third place, and for coming so far in the competition, against expectation. Many commentators pointed out that the German side has a bright future ahead of it, with so many young players showing their talent at this year's World Cup.

The team had impressive wins over England and Argentina, before being knocked out by Spain in the semi final on Wednesday. It's the third time Germany has finished in the top three in consecutive World Cup tournaments.

The mass-circulation daily Bild am Sonntag wrote, "thanks lads for giving Germany one last World Cup celebration."

Guenter Netzer, a former Germany midfielder and now a TV pundit, wrote in a column for Bild am Sonntag: "Even if they didn't win the big prize, you have to hand it to this team for a really great performance. The chances are very good that this team will land the ultimate prize at one of the next tournaments."

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung in Munich said Germany was lucky to beat Uruguay in Saturday's playoff.

"Germany won a lively match against Uruguay to take third place," it wrote. "But the team looked more like a rock band that got a bit overenthusiastic at the start and struggled to hang on to the end of the concert.

"Yet they again presented itself as team for the future - and one capable of winning big matches in the present."

Praise flowing in from across the world

It wasn't just the Germans who were impressed by their team's performance. The Spanish newspaper, El Mundo, said, "Germany once again proved its talent in the consolation playoff. And that with a team, with an average age of 25.2. Loew's side still has a lot to offer, and we'll see that at the European Championships in 2012."

Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport described the game between Germany and Uruguay as "one of the most entertaining matches of this World Cup." The Corriere della Sera ran with the headline, "Germany storms onto the podium with the strength of its will." La Repubblica noted that the game could have gone either way until the final goal: "Germany was made to quake, but comforts itself with third place."

Many papers carry praise for Sami Khedira, the German player who scored the winning goal. For the Spanish paper, Marca, "Khedira was the king of a mad game." And for the Italian newspaper, Tuttosport, "Khedira created the final joyous goal for a multiethnic German national team." The Dutch paper, De Telegraaf, also notes, "it was Sami Khedira, who punished the chaos in the Uruguayan defense to make it 3-2."

In France, the sports magazine, L'Equipe, writes, "and the world is satisfied. After an exciting match the Germans are happy to be standing on the podium, and Uruguay is proud to have got so far in the competition."

And finally, for hosts of the 2010 World Cup, the South African Sunday Times, says of Saturday's match, "the Germans grabbed the bronze as the playoff for third place developed into a hotly contested thriller."

Author: Joanna Impey (dpa/Reuters)
Editor: Andreas Illmer