Portugal 2-3 Germany

Tag : Back Zipper Boots
Portugal 2-3 Germany
Jun 20 2008 By Keith Jackson In Basle
MICHAEL BALLACK had better hope big Phil Scolari isn't the kind ofguy to hold a grudge.
If the Brazilian is the unforgiving type - and those growlinghangdog features suggest he might be - then Ballack had better takea sick bag with him on his first day back for pre-season atChelsea.
This was hardly the way to win over the new boss. Then again, lastnight as Germany celebrated this stunning victory and a place inthe semi-finals of Euro 2008, the Big No.13 was too busy enjoyinghimself to worry about Scolari.
Ballack finally put Portugal's dreams to bed with a second-halfgoal which killed off the spirited and slick resistance ofScolari's men.
The skipper struck just when it seemed the Portuguese were all setto recover from the loss of two goals in three stunning first-halfminutes to Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose.
Nuno Gomes started the comeback with a goal five minutes before thebreak and Deco-inspired Portugal weres warming forward in search ofan equaliser when Ballack popped up with the goal which just mighthave broken Scolari's heart.
He had come here confident he could add a European crown to hisglittering CV before setting up camp in West London but - despite alate flicker when sub Helder Postiga headed past Jens Lehmann -Scolari's dreams were trampled under Ballack's boots as he led aGerman invasion force into the last four and towards a fourthEuropean title.
There was a balmy feel to the evening air inside the magnificent,towering St Jakob Stadium as the teams went about their warm-up ona freshly laid pitch which looked patchwork and uneven.
And yet there was something unmistakably smooth about thesePortuguese players who went through their paces looking relaxed andready - even although this place was swarming with Germans.
They had invaded in their white-shirted thousands, guzzling backbeer like it was about to run out.
And they poured themselves into every nook and cranny of thisground in such numbers that it was hard to spot exactly wherePortugal's people were supposed to be gathered.
Basle might as well have been Berlin. And yet into this frenzystepped a little man who believed the place belonged to him.
Deco had come here to tutor the Teutons. And for a good 20 minuteshe did just that, popping the ball around as if by remote control.
The Barcelona playmaker was allowed to drift wherever he wished andfor a while he looked like creating havoc as Portugal probedrepeatedly at the German defence.
In 14 minutes Deco dropped a shoulder to wrong foot his man thenreleased Simao with a wonderfully disguised pass. The winger lookedup to find himself in on Lehmann but lashed at the shot whencomposure was called for and the Arsenal keeper batted it away.
Portugal came even closer soon after when Moutinho got himself onthe end of a cross from right-back Bosingwa but somehow managed toknee the ball over the bar from no more than five yards out.
Right then Portugal probably thought it was just a matter of timeuntil the breakthrough. They were right too. But, to their horror,it came at the other end in 22 minutes and it was to turn thismatch on its head.
A wonderfully slick break down the left involving Philipp Lahm,Podolski and Michael Ballack had the Portuguese in serious trouble.
Before they knew it Podolski was careering in behind their backlineat turbo pace and his low cross was brilliantly turned in at thefront post byblond bombshell Schweinsteiger.
This was a goal of immense quality and one which rattled the cagesof Scolari's men. Before they could recover their poise they weretwo goals behind.
Less than three minutes later Schweinsteiger wrapped his left bootaround a dead-ball and sent it hurtling into the danger area. AsPortugal's wide-eyed defence stood off Klose came around the backto flash a perfect header past Ricardo.
As this place exploded Portugal's dream looked shattered.
But slowly they began to pick up the pieces and then, five minutesbefore the break, they forced their way back in.
Again Deco was at the heart of it, cutting in gracefully from theleft then clipping a pass to Simao with the outside of his boot.
This time Simoa thought better of going along and fired a superbfirst-time pass into the path of Ronaldo who looked a certainscorer as he darted into the German box.
The Golden Boy really ought to have beaten Lehmann but even thoughhis shot was charged down it broke to Nuno Gomes who was nimbleenough to adjust his feet and poke it past Christoph Metzelder'sdespairing goal-line lunge.
It was game on now and Ronaldo almost levelled things up in thelast breath of the half when his carefully measured effortzippedonly an inch or two past the base of Lehmann's left-hand post.
Then, at the start of the second half, Ronaldo's slippery skillscarried him superbly inside Arne Friedrich who resorted to a crudetrip to knock the flying winger out of his stride.
The full-back was booked but he should have been shown a secondcard for stamping on his victim as Ronaldo hit the deck.
The Germans had got away with it again in 51 minutes when Decoghosted through and rolled the ball home only to be denied byaflag.
It was a good spot as Deco had sneaked just half a yard too far butthe Germans who were beginning to look ragged.
In 56 minutes Deco flicked Simao's corner into the danger area butthis time Pepe, with the goal gaping, managed to head over the topfrom no morethan two yards.
Then the Real Madrid defender was booked soon after for takingKlose out with a blatant body check.
It was from the resulting free-kick, in 61 minutes, that Germany'splace in the semis would be all but secured.
Again Schweinsteiger slung it into the penalty area with pace andzip.
Again the Portuguese defence froze and this time Ricardo camecharging off his line in a flap only for Ballack to shove asidemarker Ferreira and soar high above the keeper to nod the ball intoan empty net.
Scolari put on Nani on for Nuno Gomes and Ronaldo took the armband.
But Portugal needed more than a reshuffle - they needed a miracle.
Nani did send Scolari's hopes soaring in 87 minutes when he pickedout Postiga with a cross from the left and the substitute strikerflashed a header in from six yards.
But, despite some scary closing moments, Ballack and his boys areon the march towards Vienna.
PORTUGAL- Ricardo, Bosingwa, Pepe, Carvalho, Ferreira, Petit(Postiga 73), Joao Moutinho (Raul Meireles 31), Ronaldo, Deco,Simao, Nuno Gomes (Nani 67). Subs not used: Nuno, Rui Patricio,Bruno Alves, Fernando Meira, Hugo Almeida, Miguel, Jorge Ribeiro,Quaresma, Veloso.
GERMANY- Lehmann, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Lahm,Schweinsteiger (Fritz 83), Rolfes, Ballack, Hitzlsperger (Borowski73), Klose (Jansen 89),