Written by Angela Asante

Germany have qualified for the semi-finals of the Euro 2008 on a 3 - 2 score line at the expense of Portugal who are out.

Germany’s 4-2-3-1 plan stunned coach Scolari and the rest of the Portuguese team: with less than half an hour gone down the clock, they had inflicted pressure and anxiety on the 2004 runners up.

L. Podolski made a great run at the left hand side of the pitch and finished his work by making a good cross in the penalty area. The ball found B. Schweinsteiger who tapped it into the net to give his side a 22nd minute lead.

Sadly, things got worse for Portugal who went down 2 - 0 in a space of 5 minutes.

Germany’s number 7 shirt Schweinsteiger was involved in the build up of his side’s second goal as his ball - out of his free-kick - reached Klose who headed it into the net. The goal seemed to be apparently offside but no one can change what a referee has or hasn’t decided…

So it was time for Portugal to organise a “red revolution”:

Captain Nuno Gomes’s strike in the 40th minute reduced Portugal’s deficit at half time.

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by Tom Cremins,
Euro 2008 TV.com writer

The Dutch once again confounded the pundits by convincingly winning a game many thought they might actually prefer to lose. The theory was that if the Dutch eased up in their third group match after already winning the group, then Romania could sneak through at the expense of either France or Italy. Even though neither of those superpowers were convincing in their group matches, they are massively experienced in tournaments. Few teams would relish meeting them again later in the semi-finals.

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By Hasan Saiyid
Euro2008TV.com

Go ahead, write Italy off yet again.  Around the last game of the group stage of every major international tournament, Italy find themselves in a familiar position: do-or-die, with ruthless journalists (foreign and Italian) waiting to sound the Azzurri death knell.  Then, somehow, the Italians wriggle their way through, serving crow for the skeptics.

It seems Italy’s World Cup win of two years ago has done nothing to change the common perception that Italian football is an anachronism in a time that proffers the majestic Dutch and Spanish teams.  After all, which neutral would not be seduced watching the two? Even the normally prudent TSN commentator and former West Ham goalkeeper Craig Forrest could not resist being caught up in the Holland-France post-game euphoria. “That is the way football should be played,” he opined.

Maybe it is. I certainly cannot begrudge those who relish football for different reasons. Yet it is at the business end of tournaments that teams should really be weighed in the balance.  How many times have we been witness to false Spanish dawns? And cast your mind back to Euro2000. Did not the Dutch mesmerize then too, crushing Yugoslavia 6-1 only to then be outfought by, yes, Italy in the semi-finals?  Admittedly, there is something special about this Dutch side as their trouncing of Italy and France has shown, but it is early days yet.  And as Italian teams in the past have shown, peaking at the right time is key to winning international tournaments.

The reaction to Italy’s progress yesterday has been ambivalent. Their fans could not be happier, but the neutrals are cringing at another prospect of Italy going all the way.  Reverting to anachronistic stereotypes themselves, they apparently cannot bear the thought of dour, defensive Italy notching up a cynical win against the Spanish.  If there was evidence for their aversion, you could be more forgiving.  But the truth is Italy in the post-Trapattoni era have been a very attractive side to watch. They have enterprising fullbacks in Fabio Grosso and Gianluca Zambrotta, and in Andrea Pirlo an elegant playmaker. However, their most crucial player may well be the dynamic Daniele De Rossi. He is certainly one of the most complete midfielders in circulation, and proved it yesterday, as he scored and dictated midfield play in Italy’s 2-0 defeat of France. Further up the park, Antonio Cassano and Alessandro Del Piero are quintessential creative players while Luca Toni, though still yet to find his feet in this tournament, is a handful for defences.

Even allowing for Dutch largesse in beating Romania 2-0 in a game that meant absolutely nothing to them, Italy certainly deserve to be facing Spain in the quarterfinals. Predictably, pundits have started reaching for neat little clichés to describe the encounter.  It will be the “free-flowing” Spaniards versus the “hard-nosed” Italians, writes BBC writer Phil McNulty.

I do not buy the style and substance dichotomy. It is too easy.  Football is about finer details and, for my money, about results. I would much rather Italy progress cynically than exit the stage theatrically.

Angela Asante
Euro2008TV Writer

In a repeat of the 2006 World Cup third place final, Germany and Portugal will clash together, this time in the quarterfinals of the Euro 2008 Championship.

Germany won 3 – 1 in their last meeting which earned the Germans the third place at the expense of Portugal who then finished fourth.
But on Thursday, it is another story and it could all be different.

Most people might tip this game to be a tight encounter featuring two of football’s finest national teams and they will hope the new pitch at the stadium will not affect both performances.

Four years ago, Portugal had to force a 1 – 1 draw against England before winning on penalties at this same stage.

As for Germany, it has been 12 years since they won a quarterfinal game but they still have hopes of breaking this curse:

In Ballack, they possess a potential and influential captain who powered them through to this stage by scoring a bullet free-kick which earned them a 1 – 0 victory in the last round of matches in Group B.

Cristiano Ronaldo is Portugal’s big man among his star team mates but Portuguese fans should watch out who are on the other side of the battlefield:

Germany are strong at the back with goal keeper Jens Lehman and better as they push forward with P. Lahm and their top striker Lucas Podolski.

Who knows what is going to happen? One mistake might just be deadly!

Angela Asante
Euro2008TV Writer 

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