Germany need to play more defensively: Manuel Neuer

Germany need to play more defensively and aim for a clean sheet every match, the national team's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said in an interview published on Monday.

"It's a fact that we have to concentrate more on defence," the Bayern Munich number one was quoted as saying by the football magazine Kicker, amid the continued fall-out from the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Sweden.

Joachim Loew's team were 4-0 up with less than half-an-hour to play but threw away the lead for the game to finish 4-4, marking the first time in the 104-year history of the German Football Federation that a four-goal lead had been lost.

It was also the first time in three years that Germany had dropped points in a qualifying match.

Neuer said: "We've got great qualities in attack, we're always in a position to score at least one goal. But as a keeper, I'd like this idea of playing for a clean sheet to be our priority before every match."

Loew has been under pressure since Germany were beaten 2-0 by Italy in the semi-final of the European championships in Poland and Ukraine in June, with criticisms of his selections and tactics.

The coach accepted in an interview with public television channel ZDF broadcast on Sunday that the team was "slightly unbalanced", acknowledging that improvements were required at the back.