Joachim Löw's decision to reshuffle his line-up and return captain Philipp Lahm to right back paid off immediately yesterday, galvanising the defence and earning Germany a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Germany's 1-0 win over France in the quarter-final at Maracana Stadium was not particularly entertaining but at least coach Löw's team didn't repeat the slapstick mistakes of their 2-1 victory over Algeria at the start of the knockout round.

Löw took Lahm out of the midfield and returned him to his favourite position as right back. The coach dropped centre back Per Mertesacker and replaced him with Mats Hummels, who was healthy again after flu. And Germany's back four looked solid again, with Hummels not only scoring the winning goal, but making some key defensive interventions.

Germany's midfield, meanwhile, had the upper hand for most of the match, as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira helped the defence out and intercepted many France attacks.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who saved Germany from an embarrassing second-round exit against Algeria, again proved to be a big last obstacle for the attacking team, his one-handed save from Karim Benzema in stoppage time was France's last chance to force extra time.

"We played like a team again. Overall it was a good performance from us," Lahm said. "It wasn't easy today, it was brutally hot. We wanted to put some pressure on the right with me and Thomas (Müller)."