Germany 3 Portugal 2

Stayed up to watch the quarter finals last night. Germany against Portugal. I was rooting for Portugal since my favorite player Cristiano Ronaldo was in the squad. It just took Germany 22min to break the deadlock, Podolski crossing from the left for Schweinsteiger to slot it into the back of the net. 4min later, Germany struck again! Great set-piece from Schweinsteiger to find Klose to extend the lead. At this moment, there seem no coming back from Portugal. Portugal coach Scolari was dumbfounded by the scoreline. Then, 4min before half time, captain Nuno Gomes gave Portugal a lifeline, scoring from a rebound after Lehman saved Ronaldo's effort. Portugal continued to attack the German defence but to no avail. The Germans were tight in defence, constraining Portugal to taking shots from outside the penalty area. 62min into the match, Germany struck yet again. This time, another great delivery from Schweinsteiger to find the head of Ballack. There was a little nudge from Ballack on Chelsea team-mate Ferreira before heading the ball into the net. (Not sure if the ref saw it, Scolari certainly saw it, so did I.) 3-1, Germany cruising to the semis. Scolari made a couple of changes and in the 87min, the 2 subs combined to bring the gap to 1 goal. Nani's cross from the left found Postiga and into the net. 3-2 but it was all too late for the Portuguese. Final score 3-2, the Germans are through to the semi-finals meeting either Croatia or Turkey. 

benj