Intro:

German midfielder Marco Reus says his side are the team to beat at Euro 2012.

He added that their potential semi-final opponents England had "exceeded everybody's expectations".

Script:

SOUNDBITE (German): Andre Schurrle, Germany forward:
"I would say that we have shown and proven that people's assessment of us being tournament favourites was actually true and that was important for us. We approached the semi-final with a great sense of self-confidence, so I think we have confirmed our position."

SOUNDBITE (German): Andre Schurrle, Germany forward:
We know and are conscious and are aware of the strength of team and the overall squad that we have. The national coach (Jaochim Loew) wanted some changes and that's exactly what he did. And I think it was visible to all that the performance level didn't drop and that everybody in the squad can be a worthwhile and valuable addition to the team's performance. I think that is our great advantage that we have a full squad of twenty-three all on the same level."

SOUNDBITE (German): Marco Reus, Germany midfielder:
"If you look at England I think they have stepped up, they have exceeded everybody's expectations. Also they have now added Wayne Rooney to their list of active players, but I still think that we have the better squad, both individually speaking and as a team and I think that we are the team to beat for the European Championship title."

SOUNDBITE (German): Andre Schurrle, Germany forward:
"Well I think England sit very deep, they have a very solid four, four, two system and they are trying to lie in wait, to score on the counter. Wayne Rooney I think is a tremendously important figure for England. Italy have taken me a bit by surprise, I think they play very forward orientated football, they have created lots of goalscoring chances. So they both have strengths and weaknesses that we will analyse in due course and try to benefit from those."