Toni Kroos believes Germany's display in their 2-0 semi-final defeat to France was their "best performance" of Euro 2016.
Joachim Low's men dominated for much of the first half only to fall behind when captain Bastian Schweinsteiger conceded a penalty by handling the ball in the area, with Antoine Griezmann scoring from 12 yards.
Griezmann grabbed a second after 72 minutes, capitalising on a rare Manuel Neuer mistake, to put the result beyond doubt, but Kroos was proud of his side's display.
Real Madrid midfielder Kroos said: "We delivered our best performance at Euro 2016 today so it’s strange that we suffered a 2-0 defeat.
"I can't blame the team, we carved out good opportunities. We had three or four excellent chances from headers but we fell further behind after a slip."
Neuer, too, felt the result was harsh on Germany, but lauded France's ruthlessness in front of goal.
"We've played well during Euro 2016 but have been knocked out and that is very disappointing," he said via the German Football Association (DFB) website.
"It's a semi-final, there weren't any stupid moments or silly mistakes. It's not a fair result. It's disappointing to go in at the break trailing as we did.
"Nevertheless, we still had the chance to bounce back but simply couldn’t score. They were clinical.
"If it had been 0-0 at the break, that wouldn't have happened. After France took a 1-0 lead, it was easier for them."
..... - Goal