Low hails Schweinsteiger impact

Joachim Low hailed Bastian Schweinsteiger after the Germany midfielder made his first start at the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Thursday.

The Bayern Munich man played 75 minutes of the 1-0 win over the United States in Recife, a result which saw the Germans top Group G and set up a second-round clash with Algeria.

Schweinsteiger had previously come on as a substitute for Sami Khedira with 20 minutes to go in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Ghana.

Low opted to rest the Real Madrid man for the USA clash, and was impressed by the performance of Schweinsteiger.

“Our midfield overall was very strong,” he said.

“It dominated the game and put pressure on them.

“He (Schweinsteiger) was combative, had a high workload and was also responsible for ensuring that we had a good organisation.

“For me it was simply the right time to protect Sami Khedira.”

After progressing from the group with seven points from three matches to set up the last-16 tie with Algeria in Porto Alegre on Monday, Low is satisfied with how Germany’s campaign has panned out thus far.

“It was not an easy group,” he said. “The team does a lot of things well.

“Of course we can still improve a lot – the passes in the final third for example.”