The Hindu : Sport : Tenacious Germany powers into semifinals

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Sport

Tenacious Germany powers into semifinals

Kevin McCarra

Bastian Schweinsteiger scintillates to send Scolari’s Portugal packing

BasEL: This Germany line-up does not compare with its more renowned ancestors but the tradition of tenacity has been inherited. While Portugal, as expected, had more verve, it is their opponents who are bound for a semifinal.

A capacity for punishing weaknesses in the opposition can always make this team potent. Bastian Schweinsteiger, after scoring on his own account, twice delivered right-footed set-pieces from the left that led to goals at St. Jakob-Park on Thursday.

Portugal’s vulnerability in that area is no secret, particularly since the side cannot expect the situation to be resolved by Ricardo, a goalkeeper who is a shot-stopper rather than cross-catcher.

Germany’s assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick had reportedly made a bet with some members of the squad that they would score from a dead-ball situation here despite the side’s inability to do so of late.

Key strike

The key goal was Germany’s third, which dismayed a Portugal side who will have thought they were on the verge of tying the game at 2-2.

Schweinsteiger swept the ball over and Michael Ballack headed into the net after 62 minutes.

He did so after pushing Paulo Ferreira in the back to give himself a little more space. It is the sort of trick attempted at virtually all free-kicks of this sort, but his victim in Basel just happened to be a Chelsea teammate.

When the Portugal coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, takes over at Stamford Bridge, he is unlikely to require any skills in conflict resolution. Both players are surely realists.

With Germany in sight of the semifinals, the club game, for once, was never going to take precedence over international football.

Whether Ballack and the other members of this squad can win Euro 2008 is still open to doubt. Just when it seemed that they were safe in this game, they would lapse into jeopardy once more.

Their covering was as diaphanous as Portugal’s in the 87th minute as one substitute Nani, picked out another, Helder Postiga, to trim Germany’s lead to 3-2 with a header.

Thursday night’s victors are always perceived as being confident but that self-regard wavered here ever so slightly in the preparations for this encounter.

Similar system

Loew, confined to the stands as punishment for a touchline offence in the match with Austria, had introduced a 4-2-3-1 system that mirrored Portugal’s.

There is a note of deference whenever one side feels compelled to adopt the opposition’s methods, yet Loew was so adamant about the approach that he went ahead with it even though his preferred holding player, Torsten Frings, was among the substitutes because of a cracked rib.

Loew would have judged the plan a success when his team were 2-0 ahead shortly before half-time but Germany were unsettled by a goal created out of the type of spontaneity they had, misleadingly, appeared capable of containing.

With 40 minutes gone there was smooth trickery from Deco that was followed by Simao’s devastating crossfield pass to free Cristiano Ronaldo on the left. Jens Lehmann blocked the winger’s attempt but Nuno Gomes forced in the rebound.

Germany had already shown liveliness of their own. Ballack’s form was too good for the midfield to be pedestrian and Schweinsteiger was under instructions to attack Ferreira.

The opener, in the 22nd minute, had zest and precision. Lukas Podolski swapped passes with Ballack on the left and neither Jose Bosingwa nor Pepe were in time to stop Schweinsteiger hitting past Ricardo.

Portugal are conscious of their comparative lack of height but that did not excuse the second goal four minutes later, when an unchallenged Miroslav Klose headed in Schweinsteiger’s free-kick.

Narrow misses

A trial of Germany’s steadfastness did not seem in the offing then but on the verge of the interval their opponents were almost level as Ronaldo missed fractionally with a shot across the goalkeeper from a tight angle on the left.

Nonetheless the match could not proceed indefinitely with untrammelled flair from Portugal. When they next inspired panic it was from a set-piece.

Simao, in the 57th minute, took the corner from the right and Deco flicked it on. The centre-half Pepe made contact but had no way of controlling the ball and missed the target.

Five minutes later Ballack had the luxury of being able to strike with much more deliberation. Portugal learned that the most refined skills cannot always atone for a lack of methodical power in defence.

The result: Germany 3 (Bastian Schweinsteiger 22, Miroslav Klose 26, Michael Ballack 61) bt Portugal 2 (Nuno Gomes 40, Hélder Postiga 87). — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008