Germany midfielder Sami Khedira says he was not surprised by Joachim Low's decision to make three changes for their Euro 2012 quarter-final clash with Greece.
Low drafted Marco Reus, Andre Schurrle and Miroslav Klose into his starting line-up and all three players contributed in the 4-2 win.
"The changes we made were intended to surprise the Greeks, and I think all three of the new players did very well," he said.
 "The changes we made were intended to surprise the Greeks, and I think all three of the new players did very well"
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The Real Madrid man went on to say that he used the match to improve his positional play in order to aid the creativity of Mesut Ozil.
"I talked with [Joachim] Low on how to improve my game with [Mesut] Ozil and how to bring him more into the match. He performed well but was always a little bit missing," he added.
Khedira also announced he is pleased with the way his side dealt with a very aggressive Greece side after the break, and managed to play them on the counterattack.
"The goal was coming." he told dfb.de. "We came out after the break and lost the ball too easily and the Greeks always played the perfect counterattack.
"We adjusted very well to that as a team though. It was the right call to increase the tempo of the game again and to further put the Greeks under pressure and not let them get into the game more.
"In hindsight it looked as thought it was our easiest game of the tournament but for me it was the most difficult. A lot of people talked about the semi-final before the game was even played, luckily we were not those people. "
The 25-year-old admitted he took a chance with the volley that netted him his goal against Greece on Friday evening, but is delighted with how well he hit it.
"I saw that Jerome Boateng was open on the right and looked like he would cross towards the near post so I immediately started moving towards the box." he continued.
"The ball came perfectly and I took a risk to hit it on the volley and was lucky that it went in. It was a great relief to go back in the lead and to finally score again for the national team.
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"It was very important that we take the lead quick again. I tried to help the team not just through scoring or assists.
"My primary tasks are different. I am there to bring calm and to help control the game. In that role I do many things that don't necessarily stand out."
When asked if he always watched matches with a technical frame of mind, Khedira replied: "There are games I watch just casually but I almost always keep an eye on how players and teams develop tactically.
"Often a player is criticised for losing a ball even though he was not at all to blame for losing the ball. He might have lacked the right options because his teammates did not get themselves in the right positions.
"The goalscorer is always the most celebrated player but few people see the events that led up to the goal, what runs were necessary to make it happen and the work invested in it. Football is seen way too simply, for me football is much more complex."
