Thu Jun 19 16:43:16 2008

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Schweinsteiger shines as Germany topples Portugal

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Basel, Switzerland (Sports Network) - Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger received his first start of the tournament, and he made the most of it, scoring one goal and assisting on two more as Germany downed Portugal 3-2 in the first quarterfinal of Euro 2008.

Schweinsteiger tallied the opening goal in the 22nd minute before delivering a perfect cross to Miroslav Klose five minutes later, helping Germany take a two-goal lead.

Nuno Gomes pulled a goal back for Portugal before halftime, but Schweinsteiger was at it again, this time picking out Michael Ballack from the left wing to restore Germany's two-goal advantage.

Helder Postiga cut the lead to 3-2 in the 87th minute, but Portugal was unable to complete the comeback, and Germany will play either Croatia or Turkey in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Portugal looked to attack up the wings early in the game, and although they failed to grab the opener, they were the more positive team.

Deco set up a shot for Simao Sabrosa in the 15th minute after making a weaving run through midfield, but Simao's effort came at a tight angle and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann made a comfortable save.

Cristiano Ronaldo almost got on the other end of a dangerous pass from Nuno Gomes, but a last-ditch tackle from Arne Friedrich snuffed out the attempt, and Jose Bosingwa's quality cross from the right handed Joao Moutinho a great chance, but he put the ball over the crossbar from six yards.

Portugal certainly was the more threatening side through 20 minutes, but Germany came alive and tallied two goals in a five-minute span to seize control of the game.

Lukas Podolski dashed down the left wing with two Portuguese defenders tracking him, and he drove a low cross towards the front of goal. Schweinsteiger got on the other end of the cross as he ran past Portugal defender Paulo Ferreira and smacked the ball past Ricardo from close range.

Schweinsteiger then turned provider five minutes later when he was given a free kick on the right wing. The Bayern Munich midfielder curled the ball into the box for Klose, and some terrible marking by the Portuguese defense allowed Klose to send a glancing header off the fingertips of Ricardo and into the net for a two-goal Germany edge.

It took Portugal a few minutes to recover from Germany's surge, but they started to put some passes together and snatched a valuable goal right before halftime.

Ronaldo took a pass on the left and blew past Germany's Per Mertesacker to get into the box. He put a left-footed effort on target that Lehmann got a piece of, but the rebound fell to Nuno Gomes, and he drove a shot off the foot of Christoph Metzelder and into the net, pulling Portugal to within a goal.

The Portuguese carried that momentum into the second half and they created the first chance from a corner kick. Deco did a good job of flicking the ball into the six-yard box from the near post, but Pepe didn't react well and he nodded the ball over the top.

With Portugal once again looking the stronger, Germany hit back with another set piece to reclaim its two-goal edge.

Schweinsteiger swung the ball into the box, and once again Portugal made a mess of it, allowing Ballack to beat Ricardo to the ball and flick it past the onrushing keeper, taking the air out of Portugal.

Podolski came within inches of making it a three-goal game in the 80th minute when he sent an absolute rocket from 30 yards whistling past the right post, but Portugal was not done they got to within a goal once more as Postiga turned a cross from Simao past Lehmann in the 87th minute.

It made for an anxious finish to the match, but Portugal's best chance the rest of the way was a long-range effort from Nani that sailed safely over the net.