Thursday June 19, 2008 Finished St. Jakob-Park
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Germany punish sloppy Portugal
Germany became the first side to qualify for the semi-finals of Euro 2008 when they beat Portugal 3-2 at St Jakob-Park in Basel. More
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Live Commentary
Time:90'- Portugal
- Germany
90+4' Podolski gets away down the German left before turning onto his right foot and thumping a shot straight at Ricardo. And the final whistle goes! Portugal are out and Germany are through to the semi-finals after a fantastic game of football.- 90+3' Goodness this is tense! After a spell of Portuguese pressure, Postiga is penalised for a push on Mertesacker inside the German box. One minute remains!
- 90+2' Nani fires over from distance on the Portugal right.
90+1' Borowski gets on the end of Jansen's low cross from the German left but can only put the ball wide of the near post. There will be four minutes of injury time!
90' Postiga is booked for jumping in on Mertesacker on the edge of the Germany area.
89' Germany make their third and final change, with defender Marcell Jansen coming on for Miroslav Klose.
87' GOAL! 3-2! Nani's curling cross from the left is headed past Lehmann by Postiga! Game on!- 85' Fritz finds space on the German right but puts his cross straight at Carvalho. And then Deco dinks a lovely pass through to Postiga at the other end, but Lehmann comes out to make a brave save.
- 83' Germany make a late substitution, with Bastian Schweinsteiger - who's scored one and made two - making way for Clemens Fritz.
- 82' A low shot from Ronaldo is blocked by Metzelder.
- 81' Portugal break from the corner, but they're wasteful again, with Simao curling a right-footer high and wide from the edge of the box.
- 80' Podolski wins a corner off Pepe on the German left. Is there any fight left in the Portuguese?
- 79' Schweinsteiger's corner from the German left is cleared to Podolski, and he thumps a sumptuous left-footed shot inches wide of the right-hand upright from 30 yards!
- 78' Deco puts a mis-hit volley straight at Lehmann. He's not really been tested in the second half yet, the former Arsenal man.
- 77' Lehmann does very well to claim a deflected cross from the Portugal right ahead of Ronaldo.
- 75' Raul Meireles drives a shot across goal and wide from about 30 yards out. They'll have to do better than that. And where is Ronaldo? He's had a quiet second half so far.
- 74' Nani fires an ambitious effort well over the crossbar from distance.
- 73' Changes for both sides, with Tim Borowski replacing Thomas Hitzlsperger for Germany and Helder Postiga coming on for Armando Petit for Portugal.
- 71' Petit draws a save from Lehmann with a beautifully struck right-footed effort from 25 yards out.
- 70' Lahm lashes a right-footed shot across goal and wide after an enterprising run down the German left.
- 69' Nani makes a great diagonal run towards the German goal before being dispossessed by Friedrich on the edge of the box.
- 68' Portugal win a free-kick in the inside-left channel about 35 yards from goal, and Ronaldo fires it into the air and over the crossbar.
- 67' Here comes Nani, in place of Nuno Gomes. Ronaldo takes the captain's armband and moves up front. Cometh the hour?
- 65' Looks like Portugal are about to make a change. Nani is stripped and being given detailed instructions by Scolari on the touchline.
- 64' Raul Meireles's shot from just outside the Germany box is blocked by Metzelder.
- 63' They've got it all to do again now Portugal, and they will be bitterly disappointed by the softness of the goals they've conceded tonight.
- 61' GOAL! 3-1 Germany! Schweinsteiger's inswinging free-kick is headed past Ricardo by the advancing Ballack! Weak defending, appalling goalkeeping. Germany are on the verge of the semi-finals!
- 60' Pepe goes into the book for crudely obstructing Klose on the German left.
- 59' Bosingwa's right-wing cross is deflected behind for a corner by Lahm. Simao's low corner is cleared at the near post.
- 58' Ballack jinks into the Portuguese box from the left but Pepe produces a well-timed tackle to stop him in his tracks.
- 57' Great chance for Portugal! Simao's right-wing corner is flicked on at the near post by Deco and Pepe puts a header over the crossbar from five yards! He should have scored.
- 56' Ronaldo curls a cross into the German box from the Portugal left but Lehmann comes out alertly to gather.
- 55' Ricardo calmly lofts the ball over the onrushing Klose to Pepe on the Portugal right.
- 54' Ronaldo's header from Bosingwa's right-wing cross is blocked by Mertesacker, with both players clashing heads. Nothing too serious though.
53' Ballack is penalised for following through on Chelsea clubmate Paulo Ferreira. It's started to rain here in Basel. Let's hope it doesn't affect the pitch.
52' Deco runs onto Nuno Gomes's pass and slides the ball past Lehmann, but he's offside. Good decision from the linesman.- 51' Hitzlsperger shows lovely control to bring down Klose's pass from the left on the edge of the Portugal box, before curling a left-footed effort well over the bar.
- 50' Simao flashes the linesman on the far side an accusatory glance after being denied a free-kick for running into Podolski.
- 49' Lahm is cautioned for tripping Simao, despite initially appearing to be fouled himself.
- 48' Deco knocks the free-kick infield to Petit, and he blasts a long-range effort well over the bar.
- 47' Ronaldo gets away down the left before being fouled by Friedrich, who then stands on Ronaldo's foot! Friedrich goes into the book.
46' The second half begins! No changes at half-time for either side. Raul Meireles flashes an early shot wide of the left-hand post after being teed up by Deco.- 45+1' Ronaldo drives infield from the Portugal left and curls a low shot inches wide of the right-hand post! And then the half-time whistle goes after an excellent 45 minutes. Germany lead by two goals to one at the break.
- 45' Ballack cuts inside onto his right foot from wide on the left, and fires in a stinging effort towards the near post that Ricardo pushes away!
- 44' Ricardo Carvalho concedes a throw-in in an advanced position on the German right.
- 43' Ronaldo's shot from distance is blocked at close range by Metzelder.
- 42' Portugal's response since they went two goals down has been very impressive, and that goal sets things up very nicely indeed.
- 40' GOAL! 2-1! Ronaldo gets away from Mertesacker down the left before drawing a save from Lehmann, and Nuno Gomes lashes the rebound home with his left foot despite the best efforts of Metzelder on the line! This one's not over yet!
- 39' Ballack goes down after clashing with Pepe, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the challenge.
- 38' Raul Meireles cracks a rising right-footed drive well wide from about 30 yards out. And then Ronaldo is inches away from getting on the end of a long ball over the top!
- 36' Ronaldo wins a corner off Mertesacker on the Portugal left, but Simao's delivery is well claimed by Lehmann.
- 35' Nuno Gomes goes down in the German box under pressure from Metzelder after being found by Ronaldo from the left, but the ref's not having it.
- 33' Germany clear the corner but Portugal are quickly back on the attack, with Bosingwa running the ball out of play on the right.
- 32' Great stuff from Portugal, but they overplay it! Ronaldo's flick inside finds Simao, Simao touches the ball back to the Manchester United man on the right and his low pass towards Nuno Gomes is diverted behind for a corner by Per Mertesacker!
- 31' Portugal are forced into an early change, with the injured Joao Moutinho being replacing by Raul Meireles. Simao curls the free-kick towards the near post from deep, but Deco is well denied by Ballack.
- 30' Boswinga wins a free-kick wide on the Portugal right.
- 29' Deco's corner dies like a leaf on the edge of the German six yard box, but they manage to hack the ball away.
- 28' Deco's free-kick is blocked by Hitzlsperger in the defensive wall. Deco's cross from the left is then headed behind for a corner by Lahm at the back post.
- 27' Ronaldo wins a free-kick wide on the Portugal left.
- 26' GOAL! 2-0 Germany! Schweinsteiger curls the free-kick into the box from the inside-left channel and Klose gets away from his marker to nod his first goal of the tournament past Ricardo! The marking there was atrocious, and Portugal, suddenly, have a mountain to climb.
- 25' Petit is booked for chopping down the advancing Metzelder.
- 24' There have been some fine team goals at this tournament - Wesley Sneijder's first goal for the Netherlands against Italy, both Russia goals against Sweden last night - but that one was right up there with the best of them.
24' Moutinho goes down in midfield after being accidentally trodden upon by Ballack, and Lahm kicks the ball out of play.- 22' GOAL! 1-0 Germany! Brilliant goal! Ballack releases Podolski down the left, and his low cross is slid home at the near post by Schweinsteiger! Great football from the Germans.
- 21' Ronaldo is caught offside down the Portugal right.
- 20' Great chance for Portugal! Bosingwa swings another lovely cross into the box from the right and Joao Moutinho knees the ball over the crossbar from six yards! He appeared to be caught in two minds there, but he should have hit the target.
- 19' Ronaldo looks to get on the end of a through ball into the German box but Friedrich comes across to deny him! Excellent challenge from the German right back.
- 18' Schweinsteiger outwits Paulo Ferreira on the German right before seeing his low cross put behind for a corner. Hitzlsperger swings the corner in from the right, and Ballack gets up well but puts his header over the bar.
- 17' Ronaldo tracks back to tackle Arne Friedrich midway inside the Portugal half on the left.
- 16' Ronaldo looks to spring forward down the inside-right channel but Lahm nips in to dispossess him. Germany are getting plenty of men behind the ball.
- 15' Deco feeds Simao on the Portugal right, but with men in support he opts for a low shot to the near post and Lehmann makes a comfortable save.
- 14' Klose goes down under a challenge from Pepe wide on the German left, but the referee says play on. A strong start from the official.
- 12' Germany go forward down the right, and when the attack is broken up Christoph Metzelder goes down like a sack of spuds after being caught by an inadvertent elbow from Petit. The referee takes no action though.
- 11' Bosingwa puts a lovely cross into the German box from the Portugal right, Nuno Gomes gets his head to it at the near post but it bounces right across the face of goal! Great endeavour from the new Chelsea man.
- 10' Hitzlsperger fires an ambitious shot into the side netting from wide on the German right.
- 9' Hitzlsperger strikes the free-kick straight at Deco, with the ball running out for a throw-in on the far side. Deco is doing his best to pretend it didn't hurt.
- 8' Armando Petit is penalised for a late challenge on Ballack about 40 yards from the Portugal goal. Free-kick to Germany.
- 7' Portugal seeing most of the ball at the moment. Deco heads down a long ball towards Nuno Gomes, but Lehmann rushes to the edge of his penalty area to claim the ball.
- 6' Lahm's low cross from the German left is sidefooted clear by Pepe, who's made a strong start to the tournament after recently completing his first season at Real Madrid.
- 5' Assistant manager Hansi Flick takes charge of Germany tonight, and if the chips are down it's he that will have to give the half-time team talk because Loew is not allowed anywhere near his players.
- 4' Ronaldo gets clear down the left and the Portuguese fans are on their feet, but he drives a left-footed cross straight at Lehmann.
- 3' Podolski concedes a free-kick in midfield for catching Simao on the top of the foot.
- 2' Looks like Germany are playing in something like a 4-3-3, with Schweinsteiger pushing forward to support Podolski and Klose in attack. Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo comes to the edge of his box to clear a long ball.
1' We're underway! Germany kick off, and they will attack from right to left in the first half. Schweinsteiger is penalised for an early foul in midfield, before Philipp Lahm runs into Simao on the German left.- 19:43 The last time these sides met was in the third place play-off at the last World Cup, when two long-range efforts from Schweinsteiger helped hosts Germany on their way to a 3-1 victory. Of course, there's an awful lot more at stake tonight. Kick-off is moments away.
- 19:40 The teams emerge onto the pitch, led by Swedish referee Peter Frojdfeldt. Germany are in white shirts, black shorts and white socks, Portugal in their familiar all reddish-burgundy strip.
- 19:38 The pitch here in Basel was hastily relaid after getting waterlogged in Switzerland's 2-1 defeat to Turkey, and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann could be seen exploratively lifting up pieces of turf in the goal area when the teams arrived earlier on. If anyone's guaranteed to kick up a fuss about a dodgy pitch it's our Jens, although he has been commendably well behaved so far (apart from when he got booked for protesting about Bastian Schweinsteiger's sending off in the Croatia game, obviously).
- 19:35 Germany will be without Joachim Loew tonight. He was sent to the stands at half-time in the Austria game for arguing with the fourth official, and will have to watch from the same vantage point tonight.
- 19:30 The Portugal camp's preparations for this game, by contrast, have been ideal. No injuries, no glaring losses of form, and they were able to rest a whole host of big names for the dead rubber 2-0 defeat against Switzerland. Ronaldo is yet to really fire in this tournament - although he did impress in the first two group games - and it's in games like this that he has to prove he really is the best player in the world.
- 19:25 The loss of Frings, who fractured his ribs in the Austria game, is a big, big blow for the Germans because his central midfield partnership with Michael Ballack is an integral part of the way they play. The selection of Schweinsteiger ahead of the more defensive Fritz suggests that they're going to go for it though, which means we could be in for an open game. Let's hope so anyway. There have been some tremendous games at this tournament already.
- 19:20 GERMANY TEAM NEWS: Germany coach Joachim Loew makes three changes to the side that beat Austria 1-0, with Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Simon Rolfes replacing the injured Torsten Frings, and Thomas Hitzlsperger and Bastian Schweinsteiger coming into the side in place of Clemens Fritz and out-of-form striker Mario Gomez. Top scorer Lukas Podolski moves up front alongside Miroslav Klose in place of Gomez.
- 19:15 PORTUGAL TEAM NEWS: Scolari has the luxury of being able to pick the same side that triumphed in the first two group games, with Jose Bosingwa, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira at the back, and Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco and Simao Sabrosa playing in support of lone striker Nuno Gomes in attack.
- 19:10 Good evening and welcome to LIVE coverage of the first Euro 2008 quarter-final between Group A winners Portugal and Group B runners-up Germany from St Jakob-Park in Basel. Luiz Felipe Scolari's men strolled through the group stage, while Germany lost 2-1 to Croatia before creeping past Austria in their final group game to secure their place in the last eight. But will any of that matter on the night? Kick-off is at 19:45 BST.
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Team Stats
Portugal Stats Germany 55% Possession 44% 22 Shots 12 6 Shots on target 5 2 Saves 2 8 Corners 3 14 Fouls 11 2 Offsides 2 3 Yellow cards 2 0 Red cards 0 16 Tackles 24 382 Accurate passes 273 72 Bad passes 60 -
Player Stats
- G =
- Goals
- S =
- Shots
- SoT =
- Shot on Target
- F =
- Fouls
- FW =
- Fouls Won
- O =
- Offsides
- A =
- Assists
- AP =
- Accurate Passes
- BP =
- Bad Passes
- T =
- Tackles
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Portugal G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T 1 Ricardo Pereira 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 2 0 15 Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 49 4 5 2 Paulo Ferreira 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 36 15 1 4 José Bosingwa 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 36 5 2 16 Ricardo Carvalho 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 7 3 20 Anderson Deco 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 52 13 0 8 Armando Petit 0 2 1 2 1 0 0 37 6 1 10 João Moutinho 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 11 Simão Sabrosa 0 2 1 0 3 0 0 39 8 2 7 Cristiano Ronaldo 0 7 1 0 3 1 0 21 3 2 21 Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 17 Ricardo Quaresma 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Raúl Meireles 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 34 3 0 23 Helder Postiga 1 1 1 4 1 0 0 7 4 0 14 Jorge Ribeiro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 Fernando Meira 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 Rui Pedro dos Santos Patricio 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 Luis Miguel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Bruno Eduardo Regufe Alves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 Luís Almeida da Cunha 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 9 2 0 12 Nuno Simões do Espírito Santo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Miguel Veloso 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Hugo Almeida 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Germany G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T 1 Jens Lehmann 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 4 0 17 Per Mertesacker 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 18 0 0 16 Philipp Lahm 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 35 16 4 3 Arne Friedrich 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 21 0 4 21 Christoph Metzelder 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 20 0 1 6 Simon Rolfes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 12 1 13 Michael Ballack 1 3 2 5 3 0 0 26 7 3 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger 1 1 1 1 3 0 2 28 1 1 15 Thomas Hitzlsperger 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 25 2 3 11 Miroslav Klose 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 15 4 3 20 Lukas Podolski 0 2 1 2 0 0 1 32 14 3 14 Piotr Trochowski 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 Heiko Westermann 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 René Adler 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 Robert Enke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Clemens Fritz 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 22 Kevin Kuranyi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Oliver Neuville 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Marcell Jansen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 19 David Odonkor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Mario Gomez 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Tim Borowski 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 8 Torsten Frings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Summary
- 90+1' Borowski gets on the end of Jansen's low cross from the German left but can only put the ball wide of the near post. There will be four minutes of injury time!
- 87' GOAL! 3-2! Nani's curling cross from the left is headed past Lehmann by Postiga! Game on!
- 79' Schweinsteiger's corner from the German left is cleared to Podolski, and he thumps a sumptuous left-footed shot inches wide of the right-hand upright from 30 yards!
- 71' Petit draws a save from Lehmann with a beautifully struck right-footed effort from 25 yards out.
- 61' GOAL! 3-1 Germany! Schweinsteiger's inswinging free-kick is headed past Ricardo by the advancing Ballack! Weak defending, appalling goalkeeping. Germany are on the verge of the semi-finals!
- 57' Great chance for Portugal! Simao's right-wing corner is flicked on at the near post by Deco and Pepe puts a header over the crossbar from five yards! He should have scored.
- 51' Hitzlsperger shows lovely control to bring down Klose's pass from the left on the edge of the Portugal box, before curling a left-footed effort well over the bar.
- 45' Ballack cuts inside onto his right foot from wide on the left, and fires in a stinging effort towards the near post that Ricardo pushes away!
- 40' GOAL! 2-1! Ronaldo gets away from Mertesacker down the left before drawing a save from Lehmann, and Nuno Gomes lashes the rebound home with his left foot despite the best efforts of Metzelder on the line! This one's not over yet!
- 35' Nuno Gomes goes down in the German box under pressure from Metzelder after being found by Ronaldo from the left, but the ref's not having it.
- 32' Great stuff from Portugal, but they overplay it! Ronaldo's flick inside finds Simao, Simao touches the ball back to the Manchester United man on the right and his low pass towards Nuno Gomes is diverted behind for a corner by Per Mertesacker!
- 26' GOAL! 2-0 Germany! Schweinsteiger curls the free-kick into the box from the inside-left channel and Klose gets away from his marker to nod his first goal of the tournament past Ricardo! The marking there was atrocious, and Portugal, suddenly, have a mountain to climb.
- 22' GOAL! 1-0 Germany! Brilliant goal! Ballack releases Podolski down the left, and his low cross is slid home at the near post by Schweinsteiger! Great football from the Germans.
- 20' Great chance for Portugal! Bosingwa swings another lovely cross into the box from the right and Joao Moutinho knees the ball over the crossbar from six yards! He appeared to be caught in two minds there, but he should have hit the target.
- 19' Ronaldo looks to get on the end of a through ball into the German box but Friedrich comes across to deny him! Excellent challenge from the German right back.
- 15' Deco feeds Simao on the Portugal right, but with men in support he opts for a low shot to the near post and Lehmann makes a comfortable save.
- 11' Bosingwa puts a lovely cross into the German box from the Portugal right, Nuno Gomes gets his head to it at the near post but it bounces right across the face of goal! Great endeavour from the new Chelsea man.
Live Team Line-Up
- Referee: Peter Fröjdfeldt
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PortugalManager: Luis Felipe Scolari
Captain: 21. Nuno Gomes
Starting line-up
- .. Ricardo
- J. Bosingwa
- .. Pepe
- R. Carvalho
- P. Ferreira
- A. Petit
- J. Moutinho
- .. Deco
- .. Simao
- C. Ronaldo
- N. Gomes
Subs
- H. Nuno
- 5. F. Meira
- 17. R. Quaresma
- 23. H. Postiga
74′ - 6. R. Meireles 31′
- 9. H. Almeida
- 19. .. Nani 67′
- 3. B. Alves
- 13. .. Miguel
- 14. P. Ribeiro
- 18. M. Veloso
- 22. .. Patricio
Injured
None
Suspended
None
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GermanyManager: Joachim Löw
Captain: 13. Michael Ballack
Starting line-up
- J. Lehmann
- A. Friedrich
- P. Mertesacker
- C. Metzelder
- P. Lahm
- S. Rolfes
- T. Hitzlsperger
- B. Schweinsteiger
- M. Ballack
- L. Podolski
- M. Klose
Subs
- 10. O. Neuville
- 18. T. Borowski 72′
- 8. T. Frings
- 22. K. Kuranyi
- 4. C. Fritz 83′
- 12. R. Enke
- 14. P. Trochowski
- 19. D. Odonkor
- 9. M. Gomez
- 23. R. Adler
- 5. H. Westermann
- 2. M. Jansen 89′
Injured
None
Suspended
None
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Man of the match
Bastian Schweinsteiger - Germany
Opened the scoring with a sublime first goal before providing the crosses from which Germany scored their second and third.
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