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Michael Ballack's blistering free kick was the difference |
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VIENNA, Jun 16 (SW) - Germany booked a quarter-final berth against Portugal as they finished runners-up in Group B of Euro 2008 following a 1-0 victory over Austria.
Five minutes in, Germany should have gone in front but Mario Gomez failed to get a touch on a wonderful ball by Miroslav Klose, but in the 19th minute, Austria squandered a chancec of their own as Erwin Hoffer made a bad touch on a good ball from Martin Harnik.
Hoffer had another chance at the start of the second half on an odd-man break, but again the touch is what let him down, and Germany were able to clear the threat.
Those misses would prove costly in the 49th minute when Germany captain Michael Ballack hit a blistering free kick from 28 yards that beat Austria goalkeeper Jürgen Macho to the top right corner, the first goal on a direct free kick in Euro 2008.
Austria made some good forays forward in the last stages of the game, but lacked the quality to beat the German defense, and Die Mannschaft moved on to face Portugal in the quarter-finals, knocking out Austria and Poland.
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Discuss- Add comment
FManiac24 June 16th, 2008 23:34
I find Portugal favorites but Germans are never to be underestimated! If we (Croatia) collide with them again in further competition, it would be probably harder for us then in the first game.cannavaro June 17th, 2008 01:37
Congratulations Croatia and Germany....I can only dream for a Germany vs Italy FINAL.....what a match that will be,,,,but we need some luck to qualify....ajax72 June 17th, 2008 01:49
This is as probable as Poland vs Greece, only the latter would have been more fun.LOL.Tontodonati June 17th, 2008 18:54
Ajax 72, in your sentence the "latter" is Greece. Poland becomes the "former." Perhaps you forgot to include Germany -Italy (the former) in your sentence.ajax72 June 17th, 2008 20:35
No way man. 'This' at the beginning of the sentence stands for 'Germany vs Italy' and 'latter' - for 'Poland vs Greece'.LOL.I thought it was obvious in the context of it being a reply to cannavaro's post. Thanks for the suggestion though. It helped avoiding misunderstandings.