Portugal vs Germany
in Basle.
Thursday, 19th June at 20.45
The pitch in Basle has been relaid, but with two
quarter-finals and a semi-final to be played here within a week, will it last?
At least the weather has dried up - for the moment.
Both teams had their chances in the first twenty minutes but there was
no real breakthrough for either side.
Then in the 22nd minute, Michael Ballack and Lukas Podolski combined
on the left to provide Bastian Schweinsteiger with the ammunition he needed; a low cross
past Bosingwa and Pepe for a clear chance to beat Ricardo in the Portugal goal.
Germany doubled their lead four minutes later as Bastian
Schweinsteiger, the goalscorer, turned provider for Miroslav Klose to get behind the
defensive line and use his head.
Felipe Scolari could only shake his head and make plans for his first
substitution.
Cristiano Ronaldo's persistant pursuit of a goal finally paid off when
Jens Lehmann could only block his shot and Nuno Gomes was lurking to put Portugal back
into the game. A nice pass from Deco to Ronaldo on the left started the crucial movement.
A perfect first forty-five minutes of football, to get the knockout
games off to a good start.
Half-time - 1:2
Ronaldo was up to his tricks again, shortly after the re-start; making
a meal of a trip, with a somewhat delayed reaction show of agony.
Ricardo was left slapping at air as Michael Ballack commanded the
airspace, from another Schweinsteiger free-kick, to nod Germany into a commanding position
with less than thirty minutes left to play.
Scolari decided to go with four up front, for the last twenty minutes;
with Nani and Simão out wide, feeding Ronaldo and Hélder Postiga in the middle. But in
desperation Portugal chose to shoot from long-range.
In the final minutes, Portugal were given hope again as Nani's
trickery on the left fooled Michael Ballack. Nani then jinked back inside to leave three
Germans flat-footed and floated a perfect ball goalwards for Hélder Postiga to guide in
under the bar with his head.
Germany held out and will meet the winner of the Croatia vs Turkey
match.
Final Score:
Portugal 2 - Germany 3
Goalscorers:
0:1 Bastian Schweinsteiger (22)
0:2 Miroslav Klose (26)
1:2 Nuno Gomes (40)
1:3 Michael Ballack (62)
2:3 Hélder Postiga (87)
Teams
Portugal:
1 Ricardo; 2 Paulo Ferreira, 16 Ricardo Carvalho, 15 Pepe, 4 Bosingwa; 11 Simão, 10 João
Moutinho, 20 Deco, 8 Petit, 7 Cristiano Ronaldo; 21 Nuno Gomes.
Germany:
1 Jens Lehmann; 16 Philip Lahm, 21 Christoph Metzelder, 17 Per Mertesacker, 3 Arne
Friedrich; 15 Thomas Hitzlsperger, 13 Michael Ballack, 6 Simon Rolfes, 7 Bastian
Schweinsteiger; 20 Lukas Podolski, 11 Miroslav Klose.
Referee:
Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden)
Substitutions:
31 Mins - Raul Meireles on for João Moutinho
67 Mins - 19 Nani on for 21 Nuno Gomes
73 Mins - 18 Tim Borowski on for 15 Thomas Hitzlsperger
73 Mins - 23 Hélder Postiga on for 8 Petit
87 Mins - 4 Clemens Fritz on for 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger
89 Mins - 2 Marcell Jansen on for 11 Miroslav Klose
 5 Yellow Cards:
26 Mins - Petit (Portugal)
48 Mins - Arne Friedrich (Germany)
49 Mins - Philip Lahm (Germany)
60 Mins - Pepe (Portugal)
90 Mins - Hélder Postiga (Portugal)
Onto the semi-final.
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