Germany captain Philipp Lahm has admitted that he and his teammates felt "bitter" in the wake of the 2-1 semi-final defeat to Italy.

A Mario Balotelli-inspired Italy followed history rather than the odds to extend their unbeaten run against Germany in major finals to eight games.

Lahm was unhappy with Germany's defending for both goals and believes that the potential of the team should have seen Die Mannschaft progress further.

Lahm said: "It's very, very bitter. We made mistakes that led to those two goals. We worked hard in the first half and we had chances but you can't give up goals like that.

"Every defeat is bitter, especially after getting so far in the tournament. The most bitter part is that this team has so much potential for more than this, but we weren't clever enough."

Germany's last success at a major championships was their Euro 1996 win in England.