Germany win 3-1, and secure 3rd place. Yawn. Apart from Oliver Kahn and Luis Figo playing their last games, this game was meaningless for football (although German fans will be sure to milk it for all its worth.
Ronaldo, to his credit, has only dived once 🙂 – this one coming in injury time of the first half. The ref had a clear view and waved play on. There was also a possible obstruction in the penalty area in the second half, but hey, this is diver Ronaldo, so he wasn’t going to win any 50-50 calls.
On the other side, it looked Lahm took a tumble after getting away from his defender in the 3rd minute.
Germany vs Portugal Report
“I think this is the most meaningless match in the history of football.”
– BBC Sport analyst Martin O’Neill (at half-time)
Portugal finish the match with 58 percent possession but Germany have 3 goals to their credit. Summary of Portugal’s tournament really – lots of build up but little quality in finishing.
Kehl and Frings were great in midfield, while Klose was his usual efficient self. Kahn’s keeping and Metzelder’s defending kept Portugal at bay for over 80 minutes while Schweinsteiger’s brace ensured that Germany will get their share of medals.
To Ronaldo’s credit, his diving seems limited to the edge of the penalty area. At least it has a purpose, if nothing else. He has shown that he can skip over tackles and avoid them when necessary – if only he can do it in the final third as well.
Players still seem to go down too easily under tackles – it is a precursor to going down with minimal contact and then no contact at all.
With Portugal not going to Berlin, it seems the babes have left Germany, leaving behind the old and the children. Mighty unfair of them, although with Portugal’s performance who can blame them.
Not a great game, hard fought though it was.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
