3 German players were picked for the UEFA's best XI of the Euro 2008.

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Italy), Casillas (Spain), van der Sar (Holland).

Defenders: Bosingwa (Portugal), Lahm (Germany), Marchena (Spain), Pepe (Portugal), Puyol (Spain), Zhirkov (Russia).

Midfielders: Hamit Altintop (Turkey), Modric (Croatia), Senna (Spain), Xavi (Spain), Zyryanov (Russia), Ballack (Germany), Fabregas (Spain), Iniesta (Spain), Podolski (Germany), Sneijder (Holland).

Striker: Arshavin (Russia), Pavlyuchenko (Russia), Torres (Spain), Villa (Spain).

Germany lost 1-0 to Spain in the finals of the Euro 2008 tournament. Spain put on a commanding display throughout the game and after Fernando Torres scored in the 33rd minute, Germany were never able to really get back into the game and threaten the Spanish goal.

Heavyweights in European football who produce a constant stream of individual talents, Spain had not won a major tournament since 1964 but finally shook off their tag of being chokers, not able to cope with the pressure of the highest stage.

They have also been perceived as a nation divided by their regions - the lyrics to their national anthem are not used - but full-back Sergio Ramos had kept mentioning the word "united'' this week, and when Torres secured the Henri Delaunay for them they were just that.

Just shy of his 70th birthday, Luis Aragones will now leave his post as coach, probably for Fenerbahce, as a champion. Vicente del Bosque has been tipped to take over and he will inherit a young squad who have their sights on the World Cup.

While Portugal appeared destabilised by Chelsea announcing Luiz Felipe Scolari as their new coach during these finals, there were no signs of the same happening to Spain following Fenerbahce's statement revealing Aragones as their new boss on the eve of their semi-final.

They finish as the tournament's top goalscorers, helped by Torres who took the Premier League by storm with 33 rookie goals for Liverpool.

He was not on the top of his game for the whole of the tournament, but the 24-year-old stepped into the shoes of David Villa when Spain needed him.

"Viva Espana'' sang their fans before the sangria started flowing.

This was billed as a clash of Germany's efficiency and power versus Spain's fluidity and creativity which were on display as Russia were swept aside in the semi-finals.

Germany's drive came from Ballack, with the Chelsea midfielder passed fit despite carrying a calf injury on the eve of the final.

'Against the odds we will win the trophy', read one headline from a German newspaper on the day of the game - and Ballack was seen as the key to their chances.

They had been inconsistent in the group stages, then stuttered past Turkey after outmuscling Portugal.

Only Ballack's level of performance had been high throughout all of it but he ends the tournament a 'nearly man' again.

Six years ago he missed the World Cup final through suspension just after Bayer Leverkusen missed a trio of chances for silverware.

This season Manchester United pipped him to the Premier League and Champions League - and he finds himself the bridesmaid once more.

Facing Ballack was a Barcelona-bred wall of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas in midfield, with Arsenal's youngster getting his chance following Villa's injury.

But before they were allowed to impose themselves on the game, Germany had already wasted two early chances.

Ramos lost his bearings and gifted a pass straight to Miroslav Klose, whose poor touch let him down as he sped past Carles Puyol - and the opportunity had gone.

Then Thomas Hitzlsperger was teed up on the edge of the area by Klose but could not get purchase on his shot.

Spain started to move through the gears after their double reprieve, never looking back after they were let off the hook.

Their opening chance came after a Xavi pass had split the German defence to find Iniesta on the left. When the cross came over, Christoph Metzelder sliced towards his own goal and Jens Lehmann, the oldest player to feature in a European Championship final, athletically tipped around the post.

The post came to Lehmann's rescue when Torres climbed above Per Mertesacker to meet Ramos' centre - but the Liverpool man was not made to wait long for his goal.

It came 12 minutes before the break when Xavi played the ball beyond Philipp Lahm. The full-back was favourite to clear but Torres used pace and muscle to get around him and chip over Lehmann before celebrating his goal by sucking his thumb.

It could have got worse for Germany had David Silva not volleyed over wildly when found at the far post by Iniesta.

And German fans feared the worst when Ballack was forced off with a cut eye, but he returned after getting the bloodied injury treated twice. He was also booked along with opposing captain Iker Casillas for talking back at the referee.

Spain had chances to make it comfortable after the break, with Lehmann saving from Ramos' header and Iniesta getting a drive cleared off the line.

Their own indiscipline almost cost them when Silva butted his head towards Lukas Podolski - but no card was shown.

Torres was taken off in the 78th minute, with his job already done in waking the sleeping giants of European football.

Ballack has been declared fit to play for the final.

Here is Germany's starting line-up:

Lehmann, Friedrich, Lahm, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Schweinsteiger, Frings, Ballack, Hitzlsperger, Podolski, Klose.

Löw sticks with the XI that started the second half of the 3-2 semi-final victory against Turkey.

Germany captain Michael Ballack is doubtful for Sunday's Euro 2008 final against Spain because of an injury to his right calf, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Saturday.

Ballack missed training on Friday back at the team's base in Tenero and he was unable to join the eve-of-match session at the stadium in Vienna on Saturday. The DFB said the question of whether he could play was 'fully open' with just over 24 hours to go before the final.

The 31-year-old midfielder has scored two goals during the tournament and was the outstanding player in the 3-2 win over Portugal in the quarter-finals. He was less impressive against Turkey in the semi-finals but his absence would be a huge blow to the German team, who are bidding for their fourth European Championship title.

Ballack has never played in a major final for Germany. He missed the final of the 2002 World Cup through suspension and was part of the team that lost the 2006 semi-final to Italy.

German President Horst Köhler and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in the stands on Sunday to watch Germany take on Spain in the Euro 2008 final. "The chancellor will be in Vienna to cheer on the Mannschaft," government spokesman Thomas Steg explained.

Merkel was in Basel on Wednesday to witness Germany's narrow victory over Turkey in their semi-final. Several government ministers will also attend the final. Among these are Wolfgang Schäuble, Minister of the Interior and responsible for sports, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Norbert Lammert, President of the Bundestag.

Spain has confirmed that King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will be at the match, after the Spanish side booked a place in the final by beating Russia 3-0 on Thursday.

Harrison Ford, Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo and Jamaican reggae artist Shaggy, singer of the tournament's two mascot songs, are among the invited guests from the entertainment industry.

Former top sportsmen and sporting officials due to attend include German ex Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, 1974 World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge and FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Germany will now face Spain in the European Championship Finals to take place on Sunday. Spain won in convincing fashion against Russia in the other semifinal game 3-0 to book their place in the finals.

Looking at the form of the two teams, Germany will certainly have to up their game to be able to match Spain, after an unconvincing win against an understrength Turkish side.

Germany coach Joachim Loew has praised Torsten Frings for his attitude on Thursday after the disappointed midfielder was not called up by Löw in the game against Turkey. He later came off the bench at the start of the second half to play a key part in the Euro 2008 semi-final victory over the battling Turks.

Read more about what Löw had to say about Frings.>>

In case you missed the exciting semifinals between Germany and Turkey, here's the highlights from the game.

"We are absolutely delighted to have won this semi-final – an incredible feeling. The players themselves are thrilled to have won a game like that. It was a fantastic fight, a great drama, and with the late goals it had everything. After conceding their second goal, we were strong enough mentally to come back and it was an excellent move that resulted in the third goal. It was hard to take conceding at 2-2, but it was a clear sign of our strength of character that we then produced an excellent attack and a brilliant finish. I think we played very well, and I also think they played very well. Technically they are excellent and there were spells in the match where we struggled. It was difficult, but we were clinical and scored three goals which made the difference, from fewer chances than against Portugal in the quarter-final. We showed a winning mentality. Early on, we gave the ball away easily and lost our rhythm. They kept possession well and we ended up hitting long balls. Second half, we might have benefited from a second striker to help keep the ball up front, but the five midfielders were important as they stopped us from being overrun – because Turkey passed the ball really well through midfield. I coached in Turkey and I know that once they get into the groove in a game or in a competition, they are hard to stop. They have great enthusiasm and are fantastic technically. We were worried, but we were lucky to score in the 90th minute. Congratulations to Turkey for a fantastic show."

Germany won Turkey 3-2 to book a place in the finals of Euro 2008 after a fantastic strike in the 90th minute by Philipp Lahm. Klose scored in the 79th minute with a header that looked like it was going to be the winner but Turkey once again leveled in dramatic fashion in the 86th minute. With the game looking to go into extra time, Germany decided it was time for them to take a page off the Turks. Lahm made a run down the left and played a nice one-two with Hitzelsperger to end up nicely placed with just the goalkeeper to beat. He cooly sent the Turkish goalkeeper diving the wrong way, slotting the ball into the net at the near post.

Thus, the result ends the Turkish fairytale that has dominated headlines at Euro 2008. Turkey had come back 3 times in the last 3 games with late goals and it looked like it was going to happen again when Semih Senturk scored in the 86th minute to level things at 2-2. The much-weakened Turkey side had dominated the first half but were only level at half-time after Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger had cancelled out Ugur Boral's 22nd-minute opening goal within 4 minutes.

The second half was a more evenly-matched game and looked to be going to extra-time after Germany striker Miroslav Klose and Semih Senturk of Turkey had each scored in the final 11 minutes. Germany took the lead through Klose in the 79th minute. Rustu was coming out from his goal to claim Lahm's lofted cross into the area, but Klose beat both the goalkeeper and Topal to the ball to send a glancing header into an unguarded net. Astonishingly, the Turks managed to net yet another late goal 4 minutes from time when it seemed like Germany were all set to go into the finals. Sabri sent over a low cross and Semih managed to poke the ball past Lehmann at his near post.

But there was still time for Lahm to smash home the winner as three-times European champions - twice as West Germany in 1972 and 1980 - reached the final, where they will meet either Spain or Russia.

Michael Ballack's lung-busting performances for Germany at Euro 2008 can be directly attributed to the Chelsea midfielder's experience of playing in the Premier League, according to national team coach Joachim Löw.

Statistically, Ballack has been one of the players who has covered the most ground in the European Championship, and his displays have been vital in helping Germany set up a semi-final showdown with Turkey in Basle tonight.

Ballack joined Chelsea from Bayern Munich in 2006 and Löwbelieves the midfielder's fitness levels are noticeably better since he switched to England.

'Michael Ballack in the past few matches has really run a great deal and in the last two years he has played in the Premier League in the UK and he's had excellent progress physically - we noticed that when he joined us with the national squad in Germany,' said Löw. 'He was injured for half a year but he worked hard in that period of time, so physically speaking he developed nicely playing in the Premier League because they play fast-paced football at a high-intensity. So at the moment he is in very good physical shape and he is capable of doing long runs in a match and at high speed. This is a development that we have seen in the past few months.'

Captain Ballack may have another tiring night in store against the Turks, a side who have proven themselves virtually impossible to keep down during Euro 2008 so far. Turkey may have lost their opening match 2-0 to Portugal, but since then they have won three successive matches to reach their first European Championship semi-final. It has been the manner of those wins that has been the most impressive thing though, with Fatih Terim's side fighting back from deficits in all three matches before clinching last-gasp victories.

Löw believes that Turkey's never-say-die attitude is something that has been developed over the last few years. 'They have very strong runners and very technical players, and they have come up with great performances and have been highly motivated in the tournament,' Löw said. 'They have always been excellent players and it's always been fun for them to play, but when they've been down they tended to be demoralised, but the have learnt never to give up and in particular to keep on running. Maybe this was not the same 10 years ago.'

Torsten Frings has recovered sufficiently from his fractured rib and could return to the Germany team to face Turkey in Wednesday's Euro 2008 semi-final. That is according to coach Joachim Löw, who said that the experienced midfielder trained on Monday. Frings trained with a protective bandage and reported no major problems, except for a nagging pain.

Frings, one of Germany's most experienced midfielders, broke his rib in the 1-0 win over Austria in their final group game. That put him out of the quarterfinal against Portugal. Thomas Hitzlsperger and Simon Rolfes stepped in with excellent performances in the centre of midfield. Löw could now be faced with a tricky decision whether to stick to the successful formation used against Portugal last week or to switch back to his old 4-4-2 system with Frings starting beside Ballack.

...there's a great woman. Man of the Match Bastian Schweinsteiger attributed his success to a little encouragement from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Schweinsteiger revealed: "She said that I should not do the same foolish things, that I should just play as I did before.", and that "[when] Mrs Chancellor says you have to do something, you have to do it."

It is perhaps fitting that Germany's football-mad leader should have indirectly led the German football team to victory as well.

Read more about Schweinsteiger's performance in the Germany vs. Portugal match.>>

Full highlights from the Germany vs. Portugal match. This time in English.

It seems like the Germans are happy with the results of the 2nd quarterfinals game played yesterday between Turkey and Croatia. 3 players of the Turkey team will be suspended in the semifinals following yellow cards they picked up in the quarterfinals. Turkey has a host of other players who are out injured as well so Germany will be once again regarded as the favorites in their upcoming semifinal encounter with Turkey.

Read more about defender Arne Friedrich's thoughts about the game.>>

In case you missed the match, here's the highlights of the Germany - Portugal Euro 2008 quarterfinal clash in Basel, Switzerland.

Germany stormed past Portugal 3-2 in the quarterfinals, scoring 2 goals in the first half and adding 1 in the second. Schweinsteiger, Klose and Ballack were all on target for the Germans and they held on in a tense last 10 minutes of the game as Portugal scored a late goal to try to revive their hopes. However, it was too little too late for Scolari's men and they are now out of Euro 2008.

Before the match begun, there was much talk about Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo as everyone expected him to shine in the game. However, his opposite number in the form of Bastian Schweinsteiger stole the show with a commanding performance to put the Germans through to the semifinals. The Bayern Munich winger scored one and setup two others from free kicks to snuff out the hopes of the Portuguese.

Germany now face either Turkey or Croatia in the semifinals, with a possible rematch of their group stage loss to Croatia, forcing the Germans to fight to the end of the group stage so that they could progress.

Joachim Low, banned from the touchline due to a sending off in the last group match, made three changes to his starting lineup. Fritz, Gomez and Frings, who was suffering a broken rib, were taken out in favor of Schweinsteiger, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Simon Rolfes. Scolari, on the other hand, started with the same eleven that had breezed through the first two group games.

Germany controlled the tempo and the possession in the early stages of the game. Hitzlsperger had the first shot with a ninth-minute free-kick but Deco blocked it, and the Stuttgart midfielder let rip another left-footed effort towards the goal moments later which went into the side-netting.

Simao made Jens Lehmann work for the first time just before the quarter-hour mark when he found himself well placed on the right-hand side of the area following good build-up play from Pepe and Deco, but the former Arsenal stopper confidently held on to the winger's effort. Gomes then looked to put Cristiano Ronaldo through but Arne Friedrich got across swiftly to put the ball out for a corner.

Portugal's best chance in the first half came when Jose Bosingwa fired in a cross from the left towards Joao Moutinho. It arrived at an awkward height for the Sporting Lisbon midfielder, who seemed unsure of what to do with it and ended up diverting the ball over the bar with his knee. The miss proved costly as the Germans went a goal up shortly after in the 22nd minute.

It was a wonderfully worked goal too, some swift one-touch passing between Philipp Lahm, Ballack and Lukas Podolski advancing the ball down the left, with Podolski bursting clear to drive in a low cross which Schweinsteiger converted with a sliding finish. Löw had told the midfielder he had a "debt" to his team-mates after his red card against Croatia and he certainly made sure he repaid it by opening the scoring against Portugal.

Four minutes later, Germany doubled their advantage when Schweinsteiger, now on fire from his earlier goal, floated in a perfect free-kick and Klose glanced a header past the onrushing Ricardo.

As if things couldn't get any worse, Portugal suffered a further blow to their dimming hopes when Moutinho hobbled off with a knee injury, to be replaced by Raul Meireles.

The Portuguese slowly began to find their way back into the game again, as Ronaldo and Simao combined well just after the half-hour to force Per Mertesacker into a scrambled clearance. Gomes halved the deficit in the 40th minute, reacting first to fire into the bottom-left corner off the right boot of Christoph Metzelder after Lehmann had parried a Ronaldo shot towards the middle of his goalmouth.

That goal set-up an interesting last 5 minutes of the first half as the Germans tried to restore their lead when Ballack cut in well from the left onto his right foot, but Ricardo saved well at his near post to deny the German captain.

The second-half began in a rather ragged fashion as Friedrich and Lahm were both shown yellow cards for tackles on Ronaldo and Simao respectively. Hitzlsperger had a chance five minutes after the restart but sent his left-footed strike high over the top. Pepe then gave up a good chance to draw level when he headed over in the 57th minute after Deco had flicked on a corner.

The Portuguese immediately paid for their wastefulness when Ballack met Schweinsteiger's free-kick from the left to head past Ricardo in the 62nd minute, restoring the two-goal cushion they had earlier.

Portugal's hopes of going through looked decidedly dim after that, although Scolari tried to turn things around with less than 30 minutes left by throwing on attackers Nani and Postiga.

Podolski almost put the result beyond doubt 12 minutes from time when his fierce long-range drive whizzed just past the right-hand post with Ricardo not able to react to the shot. Nani then set up fellow substitute Postiga to head home a second late in the game to give Portugal a slim chance to level things in the last 3 minutes of the game.

Germany pulled everyone back to form a solid defensive wall against Portugal in the dying minutes as they tried to fend off the few remaining attacks mounted by the Portuguese. However, there was no way past for Portugal and Germany, under the temporary guidance of Löw's assistant Hans-Dieter Flick, are now through to the semifinals of European Championships for the first time since their 1996 triumph.

The game also brings Luiz Felipe Scolari's five-year reign as the Portugal coach to an inglorious end as the team crashes out, unable to improve on their past two outings in the European Championships. He now heads off to become Chelsea manager on July 1.

Here's the German's starting lineup for the game:

Lehmann will be keeping goal as usual.

In front of him, the back four will consist of the same that played against Austria, namely (L to R): Lahm, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Friedrich.

The midfield will have a bit of a shake-up following Schweinsteiger's return and Frings' injury. Rolfes has been handed his first start at the Euro. The four midfielders are (L to R): Hitzlsperger, Ballack, Rolfes, Schweinsteiger.

Upfront, Gomez has been taken off in favor of Podolski partnering Klose.

Germany hope their plan to neutralise Cristiano Ronaldo when they take on Portugal in today's quarter-final in Basle does not backfire.

Joachim Low's side, who have progressed to the last eight of the European Championships for the first time since 1996, know their chances of reaching the semi-finals depend on whether they can stop the Manchester United winger. "We have a special plan but I cannot reveal anything," said Oliver Bierhoff, former Germany striker and current national team general manager.

Ronaldo, who won the European Golden Shoe after becoming the continent's top scorer this season, will lead Portugal at the St Jakob-Park Stadium. The 23-year-old made sure his team qualified for the quarter-finals as Group A winners having scored one goal and set up two more in their 3-1 triumph against the Czech Republic. To make matters worse for Germany, Ronaldo was rested in Portugal's last group game and will be eager to add to his tally.

"Ronaldo is the best player in the world," admitted Bierhoff. "You can never stop him for 90 minutes even though you can ask defenders and midfielders to keep a close eye on him. We can't expect one or two players to stop him so it has to be the group as a whole that needs to confront him."

However, Bierhoff admitted the Ronaldo factor could pose a dilemma to his players as focusing too much on the United winger could cost his team dearly. "The problem with Portugal is that they also have other top players," said Bierhoff. "They have a great team and have an experienced coach in Luiz Felipe Scolari. They will be tough opponents but we are ready." Germany, who will be without their coach Low as he will undergo a one-match touchline ban, must step up their game if they wish to keep their European dreams alive, according to Bierhoff.

Having lost 2-1 to Croatia, the Germans were made to suffer against Austria in their last group game before being rescued by a stunning Michael Ballack free-kick that earned them a 1-0 triumph and a second-place finish in their group.

"There's no doubt that we have to play better than in our last two games," admitted Bierhoff. "We showed in qualifying that we can play very good and beat the best teams but just need to prove it against a very good side. Portugal are favourites but Germany plays better when facing top teams."

So now that the group stage is over, here's a brief roundup about the different groups and whose through to the quarterfinals.

In Group A, Portugal and Turkey are through with 6 points each, with Portugal winning the group based on a better head-to-head record against the Turks. The Czech Republic and Switzerland go home with 3 points a piece, the Czechs crashing out after Turkey rallied from 2 goals down to put 3 past them in the last 15 minutes.

Over at Group B, Croatia won all their 3 groups games to finish first with 9 points while Germany make it through with 6 points, knocking co-hosts Austria out in the last game.

For Group C, the Netherlands tops the group in convincing fashion with a 3-0 win over Italy, 4-1 over France and 2-0 over Romania. Italy are runners up with 4 points after they win their last group match against France 2-0, kicking the 2006 World Cup runners-up out of the Euro.

In Group D, Spain top the group with a maximum number of points after winning all 3 of their group encounters. Russia put themselves through with a commanding performance over the Swedes to win 2-0. This continues coach Guus Hiddink's remarkable record of bringing every team under his charge into the knockout stages of the major tournaments they have participated in.

As the knockout stages begins tomorrow, here's the list of match-ups for the coming games ahead.

Portugal play Germany in the first knockout game tomorrow. Portugal look comfortable in their first 2 group wins and Germany will have to raise their game a notch to have a chance of defeating the 2004 Euro runner-up. Germany, however, have defeated Portugal most recently in the 3rd place game during the 2006 World Cup. Ballack will have an even bigger responsibility to play in the team, with Frings possibly out of the game with a broken rib. However, expect the creative Schweinsteiger to trouble the Portuguese defense as he looks to add to his tally of 2 goals against them.

In the second knockout game the day after, Croatia will play Turkey with the result anyone's guess. Croatia have looked consistently strong in their group games although Turkey have turned late comebacks into a specialty of theirs.

On Saturday, the Netherlands will play Russia with the Dutch being the obvious favorites to brush aside the Russians. However, if today's game was anything to go by, the Russians will be able to give them a run for their money.

The last quarterfinal game will be played on Sunday between Spain and Italy. Spain seem to have the upper hand at the moment as they head into the match-up, qualifying comfortably for the knockout stages. The Italians have looked somewhat shaky in defense although they do not lack firepower, having the likes of Luca Toni in the squad.

So it looks like there are some mouth-watering encounters to look forward to, with plenty of quality likely to be on display, as the best players in the world seek to bring glory to their country!

What do you think Germany need to do to defeat Portugal in the next game? Should Germany risk playing Frings with his injury? Who should replace him? Do you think Löw's touchline ban was fair? How would that affect the team's display tomorrow? Post all your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!

Germany midfielder Torsten Frings took part in his country's final training session before they travel to Basel for their quarter-final match against Portugal despite a broken rib – but forward Lukas Podolski was not risked.

Frings, 31, suffered the rib injury during Germany's 1-0 win against Austria on Monday and looked relatively comfortable in training, although he did not get involved in any tackling. Team manager Oliver Bierhoff said: "Torsten really wants to play, which is not normal with a broken rib as it is a very painful injury. Our medical department are doing everything in their power to give him the chance to play on Thursday. It is possible he will play under a local anaesthetic."

The 23-year-old Podolski, who scored three goals during the group stage, has been troubled by a calf problem and went through a special routine rather than join in the team session. "The situation with him has improved vastly but we still cannot say whether he will play," Bierhoff added.

German officials reacted furiously to a UEFA decision on Wednesday to ban coach Joachim Löw from the touchline for Thursday's Euro 2008 quarter-final against Portugal.

Löw and Austrian counterpart Josef Hickersberger were sent to the stands just before halftime by referee Manuel Mejuto of Spain in their final Group B match on Monday after they rowed with the fourth official, Damir Skomina of Slovenia.

A UEFA disciplinary committee met on Wednesday and after considering Mejuto's report and statements from the German and Austrian soccer federations decided to ban both for one match. UEFA said Löw would be allowed to follow the match from the stands but would not have access to the dressing room, tunnel or technical area before and during the match and would not be able to contact his team. There is no right of appeal.

German soccer federation (DFB) general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach said in a statement on the federation's web site that he was "very disappointed" and that he was convinced Löw had done nothing wrong.

Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff slammed UEFA and called the move a "serious setback" for soccer. "As sportsmen we simply cannot fathom the UEFA decision and absolutely can't understand it," he said. "Joachim Löw was sent to the stands against Austria without any warning and the fact he couldn't sit on the bench in the second half was punishment enough," he added. "He did not offend anyone and that is clear from the referee's report."

Löw also expressed disappointment in the DFB statement, but declined further comment beyond saying he had to take the decision into account. He had earlier predicted he would be exonerated by UEFA. "I expect to be vindicated and absolved," he had told reporters on Tuesday. "I haven't offended anyone. I didn't transgress any serious rules."

Mejuta told reporters, however, he was delighted with UEFA'S decision. "It is very important to me that the committee backed my decision because I felt it was the right and only decision to make," he said. "It gives the referees confidence when we are supported in this way especially when everybody is talking about it and there is a lot of pressure."

Löw would not attend the eve-of-match news conference at the stadium in Basel later on Wednesday, the DFB said. His place will be taken by Bierhoff, who will be joined by midfielder Clemens Fritz.

The DFB said UEFA informed them of their decision around 3 p.m. when an official statement arrived and Niersbach received a call from UEFA general secretary David Taylor. As co-hosts Austria are already eliminated from Euro 2008, Hickersberger's ban will apply to the first qualifying match of the 2010 World Cup, UEFA said.

In case you missed it, here are the highlights from the game.

Germany are now through to the quarterfinals with the only goal of the game coming from captain Michael Ballack in the 49th minute. It was a venomous free-kick that gave Austria goalie Macho no chance at all, as it went straight into the corner of the goal.

Now with 6 points, Germany go through to the quarterfinals to face Group A winners Portugal, in Basel on Thursday. Croatia won the group with 9 points after they beat Poland 1-0 and is set to face Turkey in their quarterfinal match up.

Germany, just needing a draw to stay in the tournament, started off brightly in the first 5 minutes, with Gomez missing a shot that could very well contest for the title of "Miss of the Tournament". Klose crossed for him just at the byline and from a meter out in the center of the goal, he somehow scuffs his tap-in, chipping the ball high into the air, allowing Garics to head it away from right under his own bar.

Austria managed to give Germany a few nervous moments as well, although the final ball into the penalty area was always lacking in quality. Neither side produced any clear cut chances as the first half wore on, with Germany looking somewhat nervous in their performance.

Austria's strategy was mainly focused on counter-attacking Germany on the break and the tactic almost paid off in the 19th minute when Erwin Hoffer was put through on goal, only for his control to let him down, giving Jens Lehmann the chance to gather.

Germany's only other good chance in the first half came when Lukas Podolski let fly a shot from the edge of the penalty area that forced a good save from Juergen Macho, at full stretch low to his left.

There was also some action off the pitch as well towards the end of the first half, with both coaches being sent off to the stands by the refree after some bickering between the two.

Shortly after the restart, Ivanschitz pulled down Philipp Lahm as the left-back drove forward. Up stepped Ballack, who took a thunderous free kick from outside the penalty area with his right foot, blasting it straight into the top right corner.

However, even with the lead, Germany remained cautious throughout the rest of the match, preferring to keep procession when they got the ball, rather than attacking Austria on the break. Austria were unable to come up with anything in response and, in the end, the hosts had to bow out to a 1-0 defeat.

As the match closed out, Germany had a few more chances to put themselves up by another goal, but Neuville and Klose would have been disappointed not to open their goal-scoring accounts at this tournament.

Even as Germany celebrates reaching their first quarterfinals at the European Championships since 1996, they will move on to the quarterfinals knowing that they have to up their game a few more notches to stand any chance against a strong Portugal team.

Germany's starting lineup against Austria:

Lehmann will be in goal.

Lahm as left-back, Metzelder and Mertesacker as the center-backs, Friedrich as right-back.

Ballack and Frings in the center of midfield with Podolski on their left and Fritz on the right.

Gomez and Klose will start up front.

Germany captain Michael Ballack insisted Sunday he is totally focused on the task at hand as his side look to make up for their Euro 2008 defeat by Croatia last week by beating Austria on Monday in Vienna in their final group match to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Ballack said his side are determined to beat Austria. "I am not irritated," responded the ex-Bayern Munich midfielder when asked about his mood. "What I try to do is understand why we did not play to our best level against Croatia."

In the aftermath of the Croatian match, Germany coach Joachim Löw had promised an improved performance.

Ballack flew with the team to Vienna for Monday's game where a win or draw will book Germany's quarter-final place to face Portugal in Basel on Thursday. "If we show the same qualities that we have regularly for the last two years, we shall leave the ground as a winner", Ballack said with optimism.

Germany coach Joachim Löw has promised changes after his side's 2-1 loss to Croatia on Thursday and Borussia Monchengladbach striker Oliver Neuville could be the surprise in attack.

However, the suspension of Bastian Schweinsteiger, due to a red card that he earned in stoppage time in the Croatia loss, may complicate Löw's team selection for Monday's all important clash with hosts Austria in Vienna. The Bayern Munich midfielder had looked lively when he came on against the Croatians but an unforgivable rush of blood to the head resulted in the first red card of the tournament and means he can not gain further momentum in what could be Germany's last game of the competition. Defeat to Austria would bring a shock end to Germany's presence at Euro 2008, which is why Löw needs to pick a team which is fully committed to winning on Monday.

'We need 100% concentration from all the players,' said Löw. 'They did not show their true colours against Croatia. You can take it for granted that we will make changes.'

Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez has failed to set the tournament alight as expected and persisting rumours of interest from Barcelona and Bayern Munich appear to be distracting him. Strike partner Miroslav Klose has looked a shadow of his usual self and the hangover from a disappointing personal end to the Bundesliga season appears to have been carried over into the national team. Löw may therefore be pondering switching Podolski, scorer of all three Germany goals so far in the competition, into the attack, but without Schweinsteiger to take his place on the left wing, that option is more complicated. Furthermore, the Bayern striker was unable to even walk on Friday due to an ankle injury and is a major doubt for the final group game.

Neuville, famed for scoring crucial goals such as the one against Poland in the 2006 World Cup, could therefore be the man to bring his experience to the big occasion. He and Kevin Kuranyi have been waiting patiently on the sidelines during the first two games with the Schalke striker getting a handful of minutes against Croatia, but not enough to make an impact. Both could well be given their chance to fire Germany into the last eight.

'We will make some corrections to the team, but will stick to our system, which we have been successful with,' added Löw. 'We are not going out of this tournament yet and we will make the quarter-finals.'

Heiko Westermann damaged ligaments in his right hand in training on Friday and needed a plaster-cast to protect the injury while a bruised calf prevented Philipp Lahm from taking part in the session on Friday. Marcel Jansen was also sidelined with a shoulder injury, but all three should still be available for selection on Monday.

In case you missed the game, here are the highlights.

Striker Lukas Podolski has an ankle injury and is doubtful for Germany's decisive Euro 2008 Group B match against Austria, coach Joachim Loew said on Friday.

'Podolski has taken a knock on the ankle and could not train today,' Loew said at a news conference. 'We'll have to wait and see. We may be forced to make changes.'

Podolski has provided all three of Germany's goals at the tournament, scoring in a 2-0 win over Poland and Thursday's 2-1 defeat by Croatia.

Loew also said Marcell Jansen and Philipp Lahm had picked up injuries but Lahm himself said he would be fit to face Austria on Monday, when Germany will need at least a draw to go through to the quarter-finals.

Jansen, who had a poor game against Croatia, has a shoulder problem, Loew said.

Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer has admitted the defeat to Croatia left him 'stunned'. The Euro 2008 favourites went down 2-1 in Klagenfurt to see their hopes of finishing top of Group B crushed. Joachim Low's side looked nothing like the team which brushed Poland aside so comfortably in their opening game as Croatia dominated the game for long periods of time.

Writing in his column in the Bild newspaper, Beckenbauer said: 'The same 11 which produced a rousing performance against Poland four days earlier was undone in such a way. I am stunned. In the 90 minutes against Croatia there was scarcely any of this glory left remaining. The team was ponderous, the positional play was wrong, we lacked bite. And the Croats have made an excellent impression on me.'

Germany still only need a draw in their final game against Austria to progress to the quarter-finals, where they will most likely face Portugal. But Beckenbauer continued: 'I have seldom experienced how you can deliver such completely contrasting performances in such a short time. After the Poland victory I said 'Like that we have no one to fear'. After this defeat it is the opposite. Like that we have to fear Austria.'

Germany full-back Philipp Lahm, meanwhile, admitted the side have only themselves to blame for the shock loss. And the Bayern Munich man knows they have to improve when they take on the co-hosts. He said: 'We have all got to take a long, hard look at ourselves. We really, really struggled. We wanted to qualify today (Thursday), but there is still one game to go and we should not make everything out to be all bad.'

"It goes without saying that we are all a bit disappointed after losing this match, and looking back at the game through the rear-view mirror I think we deserved to lose – as a team we weren't precise enough or fast enough to really trouble Croatia. We were unable to make our combinations or have a fluid game. The Croatians dropped back after the first goal and we were unable to penetrate their defence, which is why we have to accept our defeat. I'm not surprised that they tried to knock my players out of their rhythm, we were expecting this. I told them beforehand that Croatia would probably put an extra man in midfield and that's what they did. I think that, unfortunately, we played straight into their hands by playing a lot of long balls and crosses. Over the last few years we've had a number of defeats – we've not only been winning games. The team have managed to get over these setbacks and I'm confident we will be able to do so again. It is clear that, had we won, we would have been much closer to the quarter-finals but I'm sure we will be able to perform better on Monday against Austria."

Croatia has stunned Germany by winning 2-1 today. Germany went down to goals from Srna and Olic in the 24th and 62nd minute before Podolski tried to spark a fightback with a goal in the 78th minute. However, Croatia managed to hold on and are now on the verge of qualifying for the quaterfinals.

Darijo Srna beat Marcell Jansen to poke home a curling cross from the left in the first half for the opening goal. Ivica Olic doubled the scoreline early in the second period with a relatively simple tap in.

Germany pulled one back in the 78th minute through Podolski but Croatia managed to hold on for a famous victory that revived memories of their 3-0 triumph over Germany in the 1998 World Cup quarter-finals, a match that had featured their coach Slaven Bilic. They went on to finish 3rd place in that World Cup.

To add insult to injury, substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger was sent off in injury time after a retaliation against a tackle, albeit a soft one. He is now suspended in the next game against Austria.

Croatia top the group with six points, ahead of Germany on three. Poland and Austria, beaten in their opening matches, are playing later on Thursday.

Bilic's team kept things tight early on and looked dangerous when they went forward. Danijel Pranjic gave Germany a warning of what was to come when he whipped in a cross that the defence struggled to clear. The same player then headed over the bar, with keeper Jens Lehmann beaten, and Christoph Metzelder had to rescue full back Jansen with a last-gasp sliding tackle to deny Olic.

The first goal came in the 24th minute, Srna proving too sharp for Jansen, as Lehmann was powerless to stop the ball from heading goalwards. The goal completely changed the complexion of the game and Germany could not respond with a goal before the 1st period was up.

Croatia nearly made it 2-0 when Olic headed down and Niko Kranjcar blasted over. The Germans went close with a few chances of their own from a Michael Ballack free kick and a header from Metzelder that flashed over.

Coach Joachim Löw sent on David Odonkor in the 2nd half to add pace on the right and Ballack shot over from the edge of the area early in the 2nd half as he looked to inspire his team.

The second goal had an element of luck about it but it was reward for the excellent attitude Croatia showed. The ball came from a cross by Ivan Rakitic that had deflected off Lukas Podolski. Lehmann managed to push the ball away, only to see it rebound off his left upright towards the front of his goal. Olic reacted faster than the two German centre backs to tap the ball into the net.

Bastian Schweinsteiger was sent on shortly after to replace the ineffective Mario Gomez and he immediately tried to make a mark on the game. However, Croatia managed to hold on even after Podolski's late strike for Germany. Coach Löw put on Kuranyi late in the game and changed his squad's formation to a 4-3-3, in a bid to find the goal that would level the game.

But it was a matter of too little too late for Germany and they now have much to think about as they regroup for the last game against Austria.

Euro 2008 favourites Germany take on Croatia with an eye on the quarter-finals while Austria and Poland look for their first points in Group B on Thursday.

Germany lived up to the bookmakers' predictions on Sunday as they swept to a convincing 2-0 victory over a Poland side who had qualified as group winners. Joachim Loew's men controlled the midfield, took few risks at the back and scored twice through Lukas Podolski. The only concern was some jittery moments from keeper Jens Lehmann. Captain Michael Ballack already looks to be revelling in these finals and, along with Podolski and Miroslav Klose, will be one to watch in Klagenfurt.

German officials are hoping there is no repeat of the trouble involving supporters in the same city on Sunday. A total of 157 mainly German fans were detained by police after incidents which included the chanting of Nazi slogans and clashes between rival supporters.

While Germany's footballers turned on the style Croatia were fortunate to leave Vienna with all three points after hanging on to a 1-0 win over co-hosts Austria. Playmaker Luka Modric, who converted their fourth-minute penalty, Niko Kovac and Niko Kranjcar showed plenty of neat passing and clever footwork in midfield. However, Slaven Bilic's men looked toothless up front without injured striker Eduardo da Silva and will struggle to find much room in attack.

Beaten and hit by injuries at these finals, Poland could get their campaign on track with a victory, which would most likely come from the feet of striker Ebi Smolarek.

Austria, the weakest team at these finals, will need to draw heavily on the atmosphere at the Ernst Happel stadium if they are to upset the formbook against Leo Beenhakker's side.

Germany coach Joachim Low is viewing today's showdown against Croatia as not only an opportunity for his side to book their spot in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008, but also to continue his own footballing education.

Group D pacesetters Germany and Croatia will put their 100% records on the line when they face off in Klagenfurt, with the chance of all-but securing a place in the last eight for the victorious team.

Guiding Germany through is obviously Low's primary objective, but the 48-year-old is also hoping to use the match as an opportunity to learn from Croatia counterpart Slaven Bilic.

Bilic is nine years younger than Low, but they have been in international management for a similar amount of time having both taken charge of their respective countries in 2006, and Low admits he is keen to learn what he can off all his fellow coaches.

'I can still learn from a number of people and each and every time I meet with colleagues from other teams I try to take something home with me,' said Low, who was able to pick the brain of Leo Beenhakker at the weekend, with the veteran Dutchman in charge of Poland.

'I believe that the discussions and talks that I have been able to have with coaches like Slaven Bilic have been very important for me.'

Low, who was assistant coach to Jurgen Klinsmann during the 2006 World Cup before stepping into the hotseat, admits he is impressed with the job Bilic has done since taking the reins of Croatia.

Croatia finished top of their qualifying group for Euro 2008, beating England home and away in the process, and Low said: 'He (Bilic) has proved, as a very young national coach, that he has taken his team in the right direction.

'They played very well in qualifying, with very strong results including wins against England, and that means that not only does he have a strong team but he is also a strong coach.'

Low also spoke highly of the Croatian players, a number of whom will be familiar faces to those who follow German domestic football.

'Croatia are a team who have a number of players playing in the German Bundesliga, players who have played together before or who play together at present,' Low said.

'The Croats are a very experienced team with a very strong defence. They also have (Mladen) Petric, (Ivica) Olic, (Luka) Modric...attacking players who can tip the scales in their favour.'

Croatia captain Niko Kovac is not one of the members of Bilic's party who currently ply their trade in the Bundesliga, but the 36-year-old midfielder is one of three players in the Croatia squad who were born in Germany.

The Salzburg player said: 'For the players who play in the German league, this will be a special match. I said earlier that once the players return to their clubs they will want to look back at a positive result, because you know how football players are.

'That's an additional motivation, apart from the three points.'

He added: 'A match against Germany is certainly a matter of prestige, Germany have been world champions three times and they are always at the top in football, but we also want to be there and we will give our best and we will fight.

'I'm sure the Germans will approach the game in the same fashion because we are not here to play cards and be friends with each other, we will fight each other for the victory.'

Germany striker Lukas Podolski has ridiculed a threat by a Polish politician to withdraw his Polish passport by revealing he does not even have one.

The Bayern Munich forward was born in Poland, but moved to Germany as a two-year old and grew up near Cologne. He scored twice as Germany beat Poland 2-0 on Sunday, prompting Polish politician Miroslav Orzechowski to threaten to take away his passport.

'The funny thing is, I don't even have a Polish passport,' said Podolski in the Kolner Express newspaper. The Polish Football Association never showed an interest in me. Only when I played for the Under-21s and was in the public eye did they start to make moves.'

Podolski refused to celebrate his two goals against the country of his birth and was seen consoling Polish family members in the stands after Sunday's game. Despite Orzechowski's comments, Podolski maintains he has and always will have a strong relationship with Poland, although he is fully committed to winning Euro 2008 with Germany, as he showed at the weekend.

'I made a decision for Germany and it was the right one,' he added. 'Still, I have two hearts beating inside me.'

Just as most fans across Europe, Joachim Löw was deeply impressed by the Dutch defeating World Champions Italy 3-0 Tuesday night. However, the German coach is not ready to predict them as the winners of the tournamnet just yet, despite their brilliant performance.

“Beware of over-emphasising one single game”, says Löw. “Portugal played a good game, we did decently and the Dutch team showed up very strong. But we all just played our first game. As expected, the performance level at this Euro is high, some teams have displayed an ability to attack with an insane speed. But I would not call the Netherlands the measuring rod of this tournament yet.”

Löw is not too interested in the Netherlands anyway. Two days prior to Germany’s next group game, Löw and his coaching staff are very much focused on Croatia. The team coached by former Bundesliga player Slaven Bilic eliminated England during the qualfiying round and defeated host-country Austria in their Euro opener. They are a force to reckon with. Many experts see them as the darkhorse in the 2008 tournament. Thursday night’s game in Klagenfurt features a clash of two winning sides - with Germany beating Poland and Croatia defeating Austria in their opening games.

“Croatia are great tacticians while they also have great individuals who can beat you one-on-one. They know how to control the pace of a game”, says Löw.

Monday was a day of rest and relaxation following the important first win. Now, the Mannschaft has started their preparations for the game against Croatia, 15th in FIFA’s World ranking. A charter will carry the team from Lugano to Klagenfurt Wednesday afternoon. Löw has scheduled a final practice session inside Wörthersee Stadium, the site of Thursday’s game. As usual, Löw will not reveal the line-up until just before kickoff.

While unwilling to discuss the chances of individual players, Löw praised the health status of the team. All 23 players could potentially play against Croatia. And the German coach likes team chemistry as well. “We have leaders such as Ballack, Frings, Metzelder, Lehmann and Klose on the team. But our role-players, the guys on the bench, contribute just as well. When I saw them following the Poland game, going to the fans as one team, I really thought they handled that well. Competition during practices is still fierce. Our substitutes are constantly challenging the starters.”

Corner-kicks and free-kicks will be covered in the upcoming practice sessions. Löw stressed: “Statistically, the chances for a goal are higher following a free-kick near the sideline than following a corner-kick.”

Germany has won five out of seven games against Croatia so far. If Löw nominates Lukas Podolski, on Sunday a two-time scorer, for the game against Croatia, he would obtain his 50th cap for Germany.

germans v polish
by Gretna2008

Lukas Podolski admitted to having "mixed feelings" about scoring the goals against Poland which gave the German team a perfect start to their Euro 2008 campaign at the expense of his country of birth. His goals also ended Germany's 12 year wait for a victory at the European Championships.

Podolski tapped the ball into an empty net on the 20 minute mark after Miroslav Klose, another Polish-born striker, burst through to set him up in the Group B game. Germany continued to threaten and made it 2-0 when Podolski volleyed home from 12 metres in the 72nd minute after the defence failed to clear.

Podolski celebrated neither goals because of his Polish roots. "Obviously I have mixed feelings," said Podolski. "I was born in Poland and I have a big family there so it's a very important thing for me. We applied what we worked on in training and must push forward from here."

After the game ended, the German was named Man of the Match by the UEFA technical team, who deemed him the best performer on show at the Wörthersee Stadion. Roy Hodgson, a member of the nine-man team of experts, said of his display: "I think he was the obvious choice for the award because, apart from playing very well, he scored two goals."

However, the award didn't mean much to Podolski. "That doesn't mean anything to me," he told the German television station ZDF. "It was important we played a good match today. We won 2-0. We did what we set out to accomplish."

Germany coach Joachim Loew lavished praise on Podolski. "For the past three weeks Lukas has worked very hard," Loew told reporters. "He has amazing physical ability and potential. Lukas has an excellent shot. When he gets free for a shot it's very tough for a goalkeeper to stop him. For us Lukas has always played well," said Loew. "But even for Bayern, when he played, he had good performances because otherwise he would not be part of the national team.

"Podolski scored both goals for us today and he has the ability to play both positions," the coach added referring to the attacking midfield role the two-goal striker adopted against Poland. "He can come from deep in midfield and play like today." Low added: 'As coach you keep asking yourself where your team is right up until kick-off, because during the three weeks building up to the tournament you don't have a possibility to measure yourself. We played as a team. We had one main focus, which was to win our opening match - and that's what we did. I think the team proved their perseverance, their concentration; during the first half we had a number of very good moves."

Lukas Podolski scored both goals against Poland as Germany started off their Euro campaign strongly with a resounding 2 goal win.



Bayern Munich team-mates Miroslav Klose and Podolski - two of three Poland-born players in the Germany squad - combined in the 20th minute for the latter to put Germany ahead, before Podolski scored the insurance goal midway through the second half.

The victory put Germany on top of Group B on goal difference, after Croatia won their game against co-hosts Austria by a single goal, a 4th minute penalty scored by Modric. The win also continues Germany's impressive unbeaten record against the Poles, which now stands at 12 wins and four draws.

Germany, one of the tournament favourites despite not having won a finals match since that 1996 triumph in England, suffered a nervy start when from the first attack of the match goalkeeper Jens Lehmann spilled a cross after colliding with team-mate Per Mertesacker. Fortunately for the former Arsenal custodian, though, Poland midfielder Jacek Krzynowek blazed the loose ball into the massed ranks of German fans behind the goal.

Joachim Low's side did not have to wait long to create their opening opportunity though, and it really should have resulted in the first goal of the game. A Michael Ballack through-ball sent Klose away, but instead of taking the chance himself the striker opted to slip the ball inside to Mario Gomez, who with the goal gaping was unable to stretch enough to get a clean connection and his effort dribbled agonisingly wide of the post.



An entertaining start continued with Poland captain Maciej Zurawski just failing to get on the end of a low cross from the right as the German defence again looked uncomfortable under pressure.

Germany took the lead not long after though when Klose again broke the Poland offside trap, with Gomez sending the striker clear. Once more Klose unselfishly opted to set up a team-mate, and this time his pass across the face of goal took Celtic's Artur Boruc out of play and allowed Gleiwitz-born Podolski the simplest of tap-ins.

The Germans were deserving of the lead at this point of the game, but Poland were not without their chances and Wojciech Lobodzinski saw his low drive held by the diving Lehmann, before Zurawski dragged a decent chance wide of the far post during a strong period for Leo Beenhakker's men.

At the other end Gomez missed a similar chance for Germany following good work by Clemens Fritz down the right before Mariusz Lewandowski saw Lehmann save his long-range piledriver with what was the final effort of a decent first period.



The half-time introduction of the lively Roger Guerreiro gave Poland a spring in their step at the start of the second period, but despite giving the German back line plenty of think about, the Poles were still playing catch-up as the game entered the final 30 minutes.

Poland may have been enjoying plenty of possession, but Germany were looking threatening on the counter-attack and substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger tested Boruc with a low drive before the Polish goalkeeper produced a brilliant fingertip save to deny Ballack in the 70th minute. The Chelsea man looked certain to score after latching onto Philipp Lahm's cut-back, but Boruc was equal to the Germany skipper's rising shot to keep Poland in touch.

Boruc's good work was undone soon after however when Germany pounced on a defensive mistake from Pawel Golanski to double their lead. Golanski took too long in attempting to clear the ball and Schweinsteiger was able to block before feeding the ball inside for Klose. Klose, who turns 30 on Monday, was unable to grab himself an early birthday present as he mis-hit his shot, but the ball spooned up nicely for Podolski who slammed an unstoppable volley into the roof of the net.



That left Poland with a mountain to climb to avoid defeat in their first appearance at the European Championship finals, but Beenhakker's side almost gave themselves a lifeline when Guerreiro's near-post cross was glanced goalwards by Marek Saganowski. However, Lehmann blocked Saganowski's header and Poland were unable to capitalise on the subsequent loose ball.

Podolski had a chance to grab himself the match ball with two minutes remaining, but he fired over with his less-favoured right foot from 15 yards out, but although he did not get his hat-trick, he had already done enough to earn Germany the points.

Here's wishing the German team all the best in their quest for glory at the Euro 2008 finals as they begin their campaign against Poland!

Show your support for the team by leaving your comments on this blog!

"Conditions here have been excellent. I am satisfied with our preparations for the tournament", said Germany's coach Joachim Löw just prior to his team's first appearance at Euro 2008, a Group B match against Poland. The team has stayed at Ascona in Switzerland since June 2, following a ten-day camp at Mallorca. On Saturday, a charter will carry Löw and his squad to the smallest Austrian host city Klagenfurt, where they are scheduled to meet Poland on Sunday.

"Everybody feels reliefed that the tournament is about to begin, but we face a severe challenge", said Löw. "There is no warm-up lap at a European Championship. We expect a very tough game against Poland", said Löw. His assistant Hans-Dieter Flick pointed out, that the Polish team, coached by Leo Beenhakker, has many Dutch attributes: "They are a physical and disciplined team."

With the exception of Tim Borowski, who is weakened by the flu, every player on the 23-player roster reported healthy for Sunday's game. "Miroslav Klose has made great strides these last few days. The same can be said about Christoph Metzelder and Mario Gomez", said Löw, who praised Poland's team: "They mastered the qualifying round with ease, and they have matured visibly due to the coaching of Leo Beenhakker. It will be a great game on Sunday."

"We have a solid team and we have known each other for a while", said Michael Ballack. The 31-year old captain is determined to end a long run of mediocrity at Euro. The team has not won a game at the European Championship since the final in 1996. On the other hand, in 15 games Poland has yet to register a win against Germany.

Jürgen Klinsmann, who coached Germany at the 2006 World Cup, sent staff and players a text message with his best wishes.

Europe's top international football competition kicks off Saturday, with Switzerland and Austria set to host a friendly, wide open competition.

Switzerland take on the Czech Republic in the opening game as the 16 Euro 2008 finalists come out to fight for the title of best on their continent.

The usual suspects such as world champions Italy, 2006 World Cup finalists France, three-time champions Germany and perennial contenders Spain and The Netherlands go into the championships as favourites - but in truth they appear to be wide open.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon believes the world champions are justified favourites at Euro 2008, though losing inspirational captain Fabio Cannavaro earlier in the week could prove to be a decisive blow in stopping them from emulating France in adding the European crown to the world one that the French managed in 1998 and 2000.

Italy are in Group C, the 'group of death', with the team they beat in the final in Berlin in 2006, France, the Netherlands and Romania.

"It's hard, but that's also because we're in the group. We're calm, and we respect our rivals - the Dutch and the French of course but also Romania who have strong players like (Adrian) Mutu," said Buffon, who plays with Mutu at Juventus.

"In some respects the Euro is harder than the World Cup."

Spain look to have their strongest squad for many a year but unimpressive performances against Peru and the United States may be the precursor for another letdown as they seek to add to their sole senior title, the European championships back in 1964.

However, their idiosyncratic coach Luis Aragones may be their biggest drawback and his ditching of star striker Raul was made to look even weirder when the Real Madrid icon was named Spanish player of the year by his peers.

French coach Raymond Domenech was rather more upbeat than usual after the French rounded off their three warm-up matches against South American opposition having won two and drawn one.

"I am optimistic that we can do something special at Euro," said Domenech, who defied the critics to guide France to the 2006 World Cup final.

"It is going to be hard for me to choose my starting line-up for the opening match against Romania on Monday... but then I don't mind sleepless nights on that sort of matter, it is only when I can't sleep because of the injuries that I really get upset."

However, there is one major injury headache for Domenech, in the shape of his formidable captain Patrick Vieira, who suffered a thigh injury last week and while he trained with the team on Thursday a final decision as to whether the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winner stays will be taken on Sunday, the day before the Romanian clash.

Germany coach Joachim Loew is convinced that the Germans can at least break their winless streak in terms of matches at the finals which dates back to when they won their last title in 1996 - starting with beating old rivals Poland on Sunday.

"We have made progress since 2004 in all aspects of our game in terms of tactics, fitness and organisation," said Loew reflecting on the difference between Germany's class of Euro 2004 and 2008.

"If we go flat out on Sunday and are physical we will win the game."

But while Germany are favourites to win what Loew described as "the toughest tournament on earth", the German coach insists sides such as France and Italy, as well as Portugal, Spain or even Russia are also threats.

"There is no such thing as a clear-cut favourite, because there are so many unusual factors which you just can't plan for," said Loew.

"There are the usual suspects who can win, but also a few dark horses to watch including sides like Russia," coached by master handler Guus Hiddink.

The Dutch as usual go into the championships loaded with offensive talent - sadly the same cannot be said of their defence and even more importantly a lack of top-class defensive midfielders.

The Czechs have their first challenge against co-hosts Switzerland on Saturday and could well show that the Swiss and their fellow hosts Austria are the weakest countries ever to host the championships - but that does not make it any easier to pick who the overall winner will be.

Captain Michael Ballack believes his experience of playing in the English Premier League will help him have a successful Euro 2008 campaign. The Chelsea midfielder hit peak form during the second half of the last season, finally showing his strength after 18 months of injuries and poor form.

He is now hoping to carry his form to Switzerland, where Germany are preparing to face Poland in their opening match on Sunday. 'The Premier League has certainly improved me as a footballer and I have received a lot of praise in the last few weeks,' said Ballack. 'I think after my injury, I found some good form and I'm happy to be playing in such a strong league which demands so much from you and puts you under pressure every weekend. Great football is played there and I think everybody takes that with them into the national team.'

As for Germany's chances, the 31-year-old believes this year's European Championships could be the toughest ever and says every player must be in peak condition. He also tipped young Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez to make an impact. 'At such a tournament, and it will be the most intense of all, you can only have success if you are fully fit,' Ballack said. 'It will be the hardest Euros of all time. The German surprise could me Mario Gomez, if he plays. He has great ability and a lot of potential.'

Asked what Germany's strengths would be in Austria and Switzerland, Ballack replied: 'Our fight, our discipline, our desire - all that makes us a tournament team. And the other teams have respect for that. I think we are a good team, we are settled into a system and have our style in which everybody brings their own experience from abroad with them.'

Ballack and Torsten Frings will be pulling the strings in midfield but who will play either side of them remains a mystery. Striker Lukas Podolski has been used out of position on the left wing, while Clemens Fritz appears to have overtaken Bastian Schweinsteiger as first choice for the right wing.

David Odonkor, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Tim Borowski are also candidates and the decision will be made by coach Joachim Low tomorrow evening in a training session closed to media and fans. 'The players know full well that the fans are excited, but they also know that training sessions are not always for the public and this is quite normal,' explained Ballack. We also need to relax to prepare and study things that the opponents should not know about.'

The Chelsea star also revealed he and his team-mates had not been paying attention to the press, particularly the Polish tabloid which depicted Ballack and Low with decapitated heads. 'I have never had any problems with Poland, but we are only concentrating on ourselves anyway,' he added.

Ballack also says he 'gets calmer every tournament' as he looks forward to Germany's Euro 2008 opener against Poland with a cool head. He is playing his fifth major tournament, having appeared in the last two World Cups and European Championships, and knows such experience will be vital as Germany's Group B campaign begins in Klagenfurt on Sunday. 'I get calmer with every tournament,' he said. 'I now know what needs to be done, but of course a Euro or a World Cup is still the biggest thing for a footballer. As soon as the first game starts, the tension increases.

The statistics look good for Germany in their face off against Poland. They are undefeated in 15 meetings with their neighbours – a run comprising eleven victories and four draws. 'We want to continue this streak,' said Ballack, whose side have not won a match at a Euro finals since beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in the Euro 96 final. 'The form and standard of the team give me cause for optimism. We had a good World Cup in 2006 and have no fear. We can beat anybody and are not here to win just one game.'

Born in Poland but raised in Germany, Lukas Podolski certainly started early, playing for the youth club of FC Bergheim at 6, and moving to FC Cologne (FC Köln) when he was 10. It was at FC Cologne that he first emerged into the limelight, scoring 10 goals in his first 19 senior appearances, the best tally by an 18 year old in the history of the Bundesliga. While this garnered interest from other top clubs, Podolski chose to stay at Cologne. Eventually however, he moved to FC Bayern Munich in 2006.

Having been born in Poland, Podolski was initially eligible to play for Poland, but then-Polish national coach Pawal Janas refused the call to consider him, claiming that Poland had "much better strikers" and there was no need for Podolski. Eventually, Podolski was won over by the German side, and since his inclusion in the starting line-up for the German Euro 2004 team, he has proven himself to be an indispensable player.



Paired with Miroslav Klose for the 2006 World Cup, Podolski netted 3 goals in his first World Cup appearance, his impressive tally tying with football greats such as Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. Although Podolski has shown himself to be a brilliant attacker, it seems that his position as striker is likely to change, as German coach Joachim Loew faces a burgeoning demand for Mario Gomez to be featured instead. Podolski may instead find himself in the position of left midfielder, a position he played in the Germany - Cyprus Euro Qualifier in November 2007 as well as the recent friendly against Serbia.

However, there have been doubts expressed in placing Podolski as a left winger, mainly because it would leave the central midfield with a great deal of defensive work. Concerns have been expressed that midfielder Michael Ballack has been overstretched by placing too many responsibilities on him, including a lot of the defensive work. Additionally, it is no secret that Germany's defence, once impenetrable, is now their weakest link. As such, Loew may be taking a big risk in placing Podolski in the left midfield.



The Gillette Best Young Player of 2006 has always shown himself to be an excellent player; Will coach Löw be willing to take the risk of playing him as a left winger or will he be placed in his traditional position of striker up front? If he is placed in midfield, how will he adapt to this new role and how would that affect the team as a whole? All these questions will be answered once the Euro kicks off and we're sure all German football fans will be interested in the answers. Whatever it is, we're sure this young German star will shine brightly in Austria and Switzerland this month.

National goalkeeper Jens Lehmann returns to Germany. Following the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, the 38-year old Lehmann rejoins the Bundesliga, where he will play for the 2005/2006 champions VfB Stuttgart. Currently under contract with FC Arsenal London, Lehmann signed a one-year contract with Stuttgart late Tuesday afternoon.

"I felt very comfortable throughout the negotiations with Stuttgart’s management. I look forward to Stuttgart, where I will try to contribute my share to a successful season", said Lehmann, who arrived in the German base camp in Ascona on Tuesday.

Stuttgart’s coach Armin Veh applauded the transfer: "Jens had always been our first choice. We all know about his qualities, while our team will feed off his tremendous experience."

Lehmann has played 329 games in the Bundesliga (Schalke 04, Borussia Dortmund) and should replace Raphael Schäfer in Stuttgart. Lehmann (55 caps) had his debut for Germany in a 2-0 win over Oman on February 18, 1998. As the team’s no. 1 keeper, he finished in third place at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Midfielder Michael Ballack has been caught up in a row between Poland and Germany ahead of the European Championships after a newspaper depicted him with his head chopped off.

The Polish daily Super Express put together a spread showing Leo Beenhakker holding the severed heads of Germany skipper Ballack and coach Joachim Low. Ahead of the countries' meeting in Klagenfurt on Sunday, the newspaper told Poland coach Beenhakker to 'bring us their heads', which he has described as 'sick'.

UEFA are hoping the outrage created by the images will mark an end to the matter. A spokesman said: 'We are aware of the pictures. It's not something we should condone, people should be talking about the football. There is a healthy rivalry but there is a limit. We are hopeful the talking will be done on the pitch.'

Beenhakker was shocked at the images and told the Bild newspaper: 'That is rubbish. It shows that all over the world there are sick people. I distance myself from it totally.' Super Express have also drawn heavy criticism from the Bundestag, the German parliament. Peter Danckert, chairman of the Bundestag's sport committee, said: 'This photo-montage is a scandal. I hope that the Polish government reacts appropriately to it.'

Although German veteran striker Miroslav Klose had a relatively mediocre season at Bayern Munich, German coach Joachim Löw has expressed his firm belief that Klose is once again in top form.

'I've never seen him looking so fit, so agile and so strong,' Löw said at a press conference on Thursday, three days before Germany's Group B opener in Klagenfurt.

Klose, the winner of the Golden Boot Award in 2006, scored in Germany's recent 2-2 draw against Belarus, and has been regaining momentum and improving in performance. Löw heaped praise on Klose, declaring that he was in top physical form and "back to his old dynamic self".

While Klose will soon be turning 30 - the day after the Germany-Poland match, to be exact - his stellar record of 39 goals in 75 games promises that he is still one to watch.

Germany's Lukas Podolski could play on the left-hand side of midfield at Euro 2008 rather than his normal position as a striker. The Bayern Munich plaer impressed coach Joachim Low with his display on the left in Germany's friendly win over Serbia at the weekend.

Podolski's deployment in a wide-midfield role would allow Low to partner first-choice Miroslav Klose with Stuttgart's Mario Gomez in attack. Former Cologne striker Podolski has struggled to find the net since joining Bayern, while Gomez hit 19 Bundesliga goals last season. However, Podolski has the upper hand in terms of experience, having been part of the team for both Euro 2004 as well as the 2006 World Cup. This has put Low in a tough position on deciding whether Gomez or Podolski gets to play. Deploying Podolski in midfield might be the compromise that Low is looking for.

Low told Munich-based newspaper TZ: 'Lukas' outing in this position pleased me most of all against Serbia. Normally he is a striker, but he can also come from midfield. The possibility of playing Lukas on the left-hand side from the beginning or switching him there during the game is certainly an option.'

The 22-year-old may be in line for a change of club as well as position. Fans of newly-promoted Bundesliga side Cologne are banding together in a bid to bring him back to the club. Podolski was brought up through the Cologne youth system and made the breakthrough into the Germany team while on their books thanks to his record of 46 goals in 81 games.

His struggles at Bayern this season have alerted the Cologne faithful, with a group of several hundred now hoping they can fund a transfer. 'We want to do something for Cologne and this is a serious issue,' explained organiser Michael Breitkopf in the Kolner Express newspaper.
'Cologne has millions of fans so if, theoretically speaking, everybody gave 10 euros, we would soon have Poldi back here. At the start of next week we are going to open up a bank account for donations.'

Breitkopf and the fans want to save Podolski from what they see as a miserable situation with Bayern, where Klose and Luca Toni are regularly picked ahead of him. 'We cannot just sit and watch how he is wasting away with Bayern,' added Breitkopf.

Germany defender Christoph Metzelder insists he will be more firmly established at Euro 2008 after admitting his current form is not good enough. The Real Madrid defender Metzelder was named in Joachim Low's 23-man squad for the summer showpiece in Austria and Switzerland even though he missed four months of the Primera Liga season with a foot injury.

He has looked short of match practice in Germany's last two warm-up friendlies - a 2-2 draw with Belarus and a 2-1 win over Serbia on Saturday - but is confident he will improve with more time on the training field.

'I have always been criticised before tournaments, but then become firmly established during the finals and things are going in the same direction this time,' said Metzelder, who admitted he was at fault for Serbia's goal on Saturday in Gelsenkirchen. 'The goal we conceded was my error. I made the wrong decision there. My performance has improved, but it is still not good enough.'

Despite his shaky form, former Borussia Dortmund stopper Metzelder is likely to be a part of Low's first choice XI when Germany get their Euro 2008 campaign up and running against Poland on June 8.

Philip Lahm entered the 2006 World Cup a relative unknown, but burst onto the international scene with a spectacular opening goal, scored against Costa Rica in the 6th minute. The only German player to play all 690 minutes of the 2006 World Cup, his outstanding performance also earned him a nomination for the FIFA World Player of the Year 2006.



Known for his unique role as a right-footed left back, the versatile Lahm has been efficiently deployed on both sides. An effective support, he delivers pinpoint passes into the penalty box for his strikers; however, he is also quick to slip through holes in opposing defense, functioning as an opportunistic striker.



Standing at 170cm (approximately 5'7"), he is dwarfed by most of his teammates, yet the agile and quick-thinking Lahm clearly manages to hold his own, both internationally and league-wise. He was chosen as the left back for the UEFA Team of the Year 2006, and included in the Mastercard All Star Team.



Hailed by critics as one of the best left backs currently playing today, Lahm's renowned pace, dribbling and crossing abilities are sure to make him a pillar of the German soccer team in the upcoming Euro.

We'll leave you with some videos of his skills as well as the incredible opening goal he scored in the 2006 World Cup.