Roberto di Matteo said he was pleased with how his team competed for all 90 minutes as Schalke advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Maribor on Wednesday.
With Sporting Lisbon two points ahead in the Group G table heading into the day, only a win would suffice.
Max Meyer's second-half goal put Schalke is position to progress to the last 16, but Maribor pushed for an equaliser until the final whistle.
The Slovenian side fired a late flurry of off-target attempts but could not find the net.
"I am very pleased with our performance," Di Matteo said. "We knew that the match would not be decided in the first half and that we need a well-organised defense to play well in attack."
Schalke also needed Di Matteo's former club Chelsea to defeat Lisbon, and the Blues came through with a 3-1 win.
Midfielder Dennis Aogo said needing two results to go Schalke's way made Wednesday's game more challenging.
"We knew that Chelsea was leading at halftime but it was a tricky game," Aogo said. "We knew that one goal could knock us out."