Gdansk, Jun 22: Germany coach Joachim Lowe has said defending champions Spain still remain favourites to win Euro 2012 as the Germans prepare to take on Greece in the second quarter-final on Friday.

Germany, who were beaten by Spain in the Euro 2008, are the only team to have a 100 percent record in both Group B and their qualifying campaign prior to the finals.

Similar to the Manschafft, the Spaniards topped Group C after securing a 1-1 draw against Italy, an outstanding 4-0 win over Ireland and managing a narrow 1-0 win against Croatia.

Vicente Del Bosque's men will now play France on Saturday in Kiev, while Germany battle against the Greeks on Fri day in Gdansk, but Lowe said he is not fooled by Spain's recent below-par performance.

"I have watched Spain twice and they are absolutely world-class with the combinations they have," said the 52-year-old Lowe with Germany and Spain on either side of the draw and only now able to meet in the July 1 final.

"They have just suffered the same fate as many other teams here, you have opponents sitting very deep and trying to disrupt your rhythm.

"You can still rely on Spain to pull off some kind of goal-scoring move. They have fantastic players, (midfielder Andres) Iniesta, for example, is a product of a great footballing culture."

"Spain always were, and remain, the favourite to win the tournament," Lowe said.

Lowe further said teams in the ongoing tournament opt for a deep defensive line trying to pull off a swift counter-attack but the Germans have been impressive so far, following their philosophy of direct pass-and-play attacking football.

"You end up with more possession and control playing the ball wide, but that is the consequence of opponents sitting deep," said Lowe.

"In all our games we have shown our ability to create chances by getting into finishing positions, so attack remains at the centre of our footballing philosophy," he said.

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