Sealing the first European Championships quarterfinal with the check of 101SL’s 10-point outlook that has no chronological significance from this morning (hindsight commentary for all 10 pregame points follows each in bold):
1. Portugal has received quite an opportunity to not only position itself for a second straight title-match appearance in the tournament, but also a chance to really bully the revered Germans, who are banged up and nowhere on the same wavelength they were on at this same juncture at the World Cup two years back. There was some bullying no doubt, and it came from the Germans absolutely pounding the Portugese on set pieces like a drum. Perhaps Portugal in hindsight would have preferred to see more set-piece defensive scenarios during group play. Coming in to this quarterfinal affair, the team’s starters had only seen 11 corner kicks in two matches and there were just 25 total fouls committed by them in both wins, so free kicks coming their way were at a premium.
2. Lukas Podolski’s injury gives the Germans one less weapon, though it can be argued they’ve already been short a threat anyway with the inability of Miroslav Klose to be his assertive self. Podolski wasn’t an absolute gimp out there. But indeed, Klose was a little more nails in this outing. His head-in off the Schweinsteiger free kick came as a result of pitiful-poor defending and went in off Klose’s shoulder. He was still far better than he has been so far in the tournament, which isn’t saying much yet there is the idea his best is due to arrive at the perfect time next week.
3. Nuno Gomes has often talked about ambitions to play in the Premiership and his performance for Portugal over the last week might certainly give him that option — especially if he can find up-front openings in the proud German defense. Gomes picked up the team’s first goal on that rebound and was almost invisible afterward. He never got rolling particularly and Scolari was obviously a little more yearning in that regard when he made Gomes the first man swapped out. Really, Gomes’ lack of participation in the second half underscored Portugal’s inability to penetrate deep consistently in the heart of the second-half battle.
4. It’s gorgeous conditions for touch-counting and Ronaldo is once again in the saddle of the blog’s scope here. He checked out of the tournament, which many observers were hoping would be his very own, with 22 touches in his final performance. That is a somewhat low-key number compared to his usual allotment of 30-40. Sixteen of those came in the field’s attacking third, but two of his four shots on goal both came in flurries when it wasn’t as if his teammates were aiming to isolate him. That means the Germans will be credited for the most part with cutting him out of the picture. Closer to the truth, however, was the fact that the 3-1 deficit erased Ronaldo from being an urgent option. The Germans at that point flooded the penalty box with defenders and were able to drown him in the middle. It didn’t seem to matter, anyway. Instead of looking for ways to free him, the Portugese instead tried to pelt Lehmann and Co. with outside shots. Nani’s cross that was the goal-getter is a perfect example of some of the ways Portugal might have tried once or twice more than they actually did to get Ronaldo a good look around goal.
5. Bastian Schweinsteiger scored twice in Germany’s 2-0 third-place win over Portugal at World Cup ‘06 and is set to make his first start of the tournament, which has him defined as a red-carded malcontent thus far tempting redemption with the shimmering white spotlight shining down tonight. Yes, Schweinsteiger as usual swooped in to the proceedings to save himself. He is such a slugger when it comes to the way he produces for the Germans — it’s almost as if it takes two or three big whiffs for him to warm up for home-run contributions. His run on the first score was downright blistering and emphasized the danger he presents as surprise thunder when defenders think he’ll settle on the wing. The free kick that put Ballack on the scoresheet wasn’t legendary; he got it there, though, and didn’t try anything too cute. With Scweinsteiger, that alone is usually half the battle.
6. Penalty kicks now become a factor in the event of a draw and one would think Jens Lehmann wouldn’t mind that kind of pressure because it also means an opportunity to invigorate his rusting legacy. No penalty kicks and no real pressure on Lehmann. With each victory and each settled outing for Lehmann, the Croatian nightmare will seem to fade further from memory for his legions of critics.
7. The tempo both teams have shown in their three matches and the vibe surrounding their lineups suggest Portugal will be the aggressor and Germany in need of individual heroes to fight the flow. Portugal was never the aggressor. OK, maybe in the final 10 minutes, but that doesn’t count when you’re trying desperately to close a two-goal gap. The smooth German start in the opening minutes seemed to cement the game’s destiny. The Schweinsteiger goal off the pretty passing sequence came when Portugese tightened up defensively after watching Germany move the ball with ease early. What our blog will celebrate wildly tonight at last was the Germans’ willingness to drop their reluctance toward pushing Phillip Lahm into the attacking third. There he was (finally) a player in possession and it added to the German press on the Portugese defense.
8. There must be, it’s too easy to assume, temptation for Phil Scolari to flex his accredited genius as the new Chelsea boss with a nifty game plan featuring a few surprises. No real wrinkles to speak of. There actually might have been several. What looked a little apparent throughout the loss was the way his players never quite got into a mode or method. Again, it goes back to the issue of control and how the Germans grabbed it and cemented the grip further with the 2-0 lead. Scolari would have been trophy’d for genius had Portugal been able to draw even at 3-3 on the heels of lively substitute Nani’s contributions.
9. An area where the Germans do look better on is bench strength — an advantage they may look to manipulate by either wearing down Portugal as much as possible early or filtering some of their most impactful substituites at the outset of the second half. One of the prime names in mind when talking about German fire off the bench was Hitzlsperger, and he ended up starting. Credit the banished Joachim Low on that decision, a message about Germany’s intentions in the absence of Torsten Frings. Anyway, because the match didn’t quite play out with the Germans clamoring to stay around, the issue of bench play was rendered moot.
10. Ballack as a holding and advancing force in the midfield is so vital for Germany because that type of presence can destabilize the fluency Ronaldo, Deco, Simao and Joao Moutinho depend on to thrive. Ballack was golden in this role early and it was so big in so many ways for getting that great pass sequence to produce the first goal. A good 30 seconds beforehand, Ballack off-roaded his way through three different defenders on the dribble – actually driving toward the German defensive half in the process. By laboring to find safety, he showed his immense experience with the way he patiently touched the ball of to Lehmann, who reset the possession that turned out Schweinsteiger’s score. And Ballack from midfield made the crucial pass of the four that freed Scweinsteiger. Already in the postgame conversations, there are the questions about Ballack’s push on his header goal. The contact doesn’t look decisive enough to be questioned until November. In closing, there was no fluke in the way Portugal had trouble lowering its shoulder against the swiftly lumbering Germans.
