ABUJA, 0ct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Germany's under-17 coach Marco Pezzaiuoli said on Saturday that his team was too passive in their3-3 draw with Nigeria at the U-17 World Cup.

    "In the first half, we played a very good game but lost concentration in the second half after a counter-attack that gave us the red card," Pezzaiuoli told a post-match press conference.

    "After this situation, there was a break in our system and we could not play football anymore. In fact, we became too passive," he added.

    The German side had stunned the sparsely-filled Abuja National Stadium by taking a 3-0 lead which they failed to protect after Robert Labus was sent off in the 53rd minute.

    Pezzaiuoli said, however, that the match was still a good game and noted that the team would concentrate on the other games in order to qualify for the next round.

    "It is a tough group. However, we will not lose focus in our next matches. Our other opponents are difficult teams," he said.

    Germany are in Group A alongside Nigeria, Argentina and Honduras.