Joshua Kimmich pleased to see Germany 'step up' in draw with Spain

Germany international Joshua Kimmich believes the draw against Spain in the World Cup group stage was a "step up" for the team.

Germany were shocked in their World Cup Group E opener as they were beaten 2-1 by Japan last week, but kept their knockout stage hopes alive with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Spain on Sunday.

Kimmich was pleased with Germany's improved performance and reckons they may just as easily sneaked in a winning goal after creating better chances.

"Fortunately, we were able to come away with a point," said Kimmich, as quoted by the official DFB website.

"It felt like Spain had more of the ball, and we knew that we'd have to do a lot of running today.

"I feel like we had the better chances though. We had more clear-cut opportunities and, with a bit of luck, we could have got the win.

"A draw is a fair result though. It was certainly a step up from us.

"We won the ball in some promising positions that perhaps could have led to more as well."

His team-mate Leon Goretzka echoed his sentiments on the game, and added that a lot of hard work went into the draw against Spain.

"It was a real battling performance, and that's the way you have to do it at a World Cup," said Goretzka.

"Fulle's goal is just determination personified. We worked incredibly hard today, and I think you can see that in the build-up to the goal."