Jurgen Klinsmann claimed that Germany's last-gasp winner against Poland proved his team's mettle.

Substitutes David Odonkor and Oliver Neuville combined to give the three-time World Cup winners an injury-time win after their opponents had Radoslaw Sobolewski sent off for his second bookable offence in the 75th minute.

Klinsmann never stopped believing in a win - not even when Miroslav Klose and future Chelsea star Michael Ballack twice hit woodwork in the dying stages.

"It once again showed that you can never write us off before the final whistle," a jubilant Klinsmann said after the match.

"I never lost faith that we could score. After we hit the post twice I was still confident we could make something happen."

Klinsmann praised Germany´s famous never-say-die mentality.

"The key was the attitude. It was great to see how the team kept trying and really forced the goal. Such a late goal really provides a morale booster for our team spirit. The win was highly deserved because we dominated the match," he said.

Klinsmann had been criticised for calling up the attacking duo of Neuville and Odonkor, with the latter surprisingly replacing Schalke star Kevin Kuranyi.

Playing in just his second international match, the Borussia Dortmund striker kicked off wild celebrations among in his home stadium by superbly setting up Neuville´s late winner.

Klinsmann stated he has never doubted the two strikers´ abilities.

"We know about their qualities but then again we know about the strengths of all 23 players," he said. "This was a victory of our whole group."

Klinsmann burst into wild celebrations after Neuville´s late strike.

He said: "It was a special moment in my young coaching career which I will never forget. And it certainly was the same for the crowd."

The former Tottenham striker added that his troops were wary of their Polish neighbours.

"We had a lot of respect for the Poles because they were unlucky (in the 2-0 loss) against Ecuador," he suggested.

"They could have won that match and then they would not have been in a such a difficult situation. They are a very good team but we deserved to win because we had the better chances."

Poland boss Pawel Janas bemoaned the dismissal of Sobolewski, who picked up his second yellow card when he halted Klose's breakaway with 15 minutes to go.

"Of course it was a mistake," said Janas.

"I am not sure whether it was a serious foul but I know for sure that it was a stupid one. It was bad luck that the referee showed the second yellow card and there is nothing we can do about it."

He added: "I would like to thank all our fans for their great support. Unfortunately we were not able to fulfil their expectations. We tried all we could but it wasn't enough. We played much better than we did against Ecuador."