• Chancellor: 'We are not living in the Cold War anymore'' • German leader refuses to predict score of World Cup final

Amid a continuing scandal over the arrests of two German government workers for allegedly spying for the US, the country's chancellor, Angela Merkel, said on Saturday she was doubtful the US would ever stop spying on Germany.

On Friday, a senior German official told the Guardian the country expected “something in public” from the US about spying activities regarding its ally, as the German people were “so outraged” on the issue.

Earlier in the day, White House spokesman Josh Earnest seemed to play down the discussions of such issues in public when he said: “Countries with sophisticated intelligence agencies like the United States and Germany understand what intelligence activities and relationships entail.

“When concerns arise, there are benefits to resolving those differences in private secure channels.”

On Saturday, in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF, Merkel said: "I think it's not that easy to convince the Americans … to completely change the way their intelligence services work."

The first German to be arrested worked for the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) intelligence agency, and is suspected of being a double agent for the CIA. On Wednesday morning, an official from the defence ministry was arrested. The top representative of US secret services in Germany, the CIA station chief, was subsequently asked to leave the country.

Of her feelings regarding the arrests, Merkel said: "It is not about how angry I was. For me it is a sign that we have fundamentally different conceptions of the work of the intelligence services.



"I can't say in advance if [the measures we took] will have an effect, of course I hope something will change. But the important thing is to show how we view things … and it is not a co-operative partnership when such things take place."

Tensions between the US and Germany, a close ally, over spying allegations first surfaced last October, with the revelation among leaks provided to the Guardian and other media outlets by the former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden that the US had monitored Merkel's mobile phone.

On Saturday, Merkel said spying on allies eroded trust. "We are not living in the Cold War anymore and are exposed to different threats,” she said. “We should concentrate on what is essential.”

Asked if she expected the US to change its approach to spying on Germany, Merkel said: "I can't predict that, but I certainly hope it will change."

Merkel was also asked if Germany could win Sunday's World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro, in which Joachim Löw's team, who beat their Brazilian hosts 7-1 in an extraordinary semi-final, will face Argentina.

Merkel said: "It certainly won't be easy tomorrow; after the 7-1, everybody thinks 'It's almost done'. That's why we all need to cross our fingers again."



Merkel, who will attend the game, declined to predict a score.