Germany manager Hansi Flick praised team's mentality against Spain

escaped a defeat against

in the

Group E match, thanks to the substitute Niclas Fullkrug’s late goal in the second half.

Hans Flick’s side who lost their first game, still need to win their last group match against Costa Rica on Thursday to have a chance of advancing to the knockout stage.

Germany has one point and is two behind Japan and Costa Rica. Spain has four points and is on top of the group.

In his post-match press conference, Flick said:

"The team maintained a great level. I am very satisfied with the mentality and the team's work today. This was a match on a high level.

"Those are things we want to see from this team, but this was only a first step. We want to see [more in the] next match and create the conditions to go through

"Spain are a great team with many young players, some experienced players, they're technically very refined. They started well, but we pushed against them.

"We were also able to defend well, we went in hard. But this is an opponent who plays so freely with great qualities, they are difficult to defend against, and we need to work on that and improve in defence.

"But what's important is the mentality was there. They showed they want to get points, create chances and that's what we did, that's why we're more than satisfied with the result."

Germany crashed out in the group stages in Russia four years ago but Flick believes his player's mentality and character will help them this time to avoid another early exit.

"In these matches, there are things to do better, but I am very upbeat,"

he added. 

"Maybe, this result will help us improve morale for the future. I liked the mentality of the team during the 90 minutes and that's what we have to show."

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