Portugal 2

Germany 3

Bastian Schweinsteiger scored one goal and set up two more yesterday to give Germany a 3-2 win over Portugal and a spot in the European Championship semi-finals.

In the battle between Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Chelsea's Michael Ballack, the German came out on top. He delivered the deciding blow when heading in the third goal in the 61st minute, shoving away Paulo Ferreira and heading past an out-of-position Ricardo.

It was the first time Germany moved into the final four since they won in 1996, and it was also the first time Portugal failed to make the semi-finals in the last three international tournaments.

Miroslav Klose also scored for Germany, while Nuno Gomes and Helder Postiga scored for Portugal.

The Germans started the upset with a move in the best Portuguese tradition. Podolski set up a couple of short passing combinations and sped off much like Ronaldo would do. In the center, Schweinsteiger beat Ferreira for pace, and given the perfect low cross slotted it past Ricardo for the opener in the 22nd.

The Portuguese were surprised at such light-footed creativity from the Germans and before they knew it, they were down 2-0.

Schweinsteiger swung in a free kick from near midfield. Ronaldo remained flat-footed while Klose sped by him and powerfully knocked the ball past Ricardo.

The sterling performance from Schweinsteiger was a perfect comeback for the peroxide-dyed midfielder, after he had been sent off for a petulant shove on an opponent in Germany's 2-1 loss to Croatia.

Germany prevailed even though coach Joachim Loew was banned from the game by UEFA after getting sent to the stands during the final group game, a 1-0 win over Austria.

They could have used his help when they were up 2-0, but Loew was sitting high in the stands, unable to influence his players.

Instead of keeping up the defensive pressure, they fell back, a perilous choice against Ronaldo and Co.

The Manchester United forward finally found the tall Per Mertesacker wanting in the 40th minute, zoomed and rifled a shot at Lehmann. The goalkeeper could only deflect it in the path of Nuno Gomes and the captain brought Portugal back within striking distance before halftime.

The first half brought the strange spectacle where the best No. 7 was not Ronaldo but Schweinsteiger. The best midfielder was not Ballack but Deco.

And the capacity 39,374-crowd at St. Jakob Park was overwhelmingly German, after Portuguese fans dominated the first round.

Ronaldo, touted as the greatest to roam the Euro 2008 fields, was held in a tight zone defence that found him increasingly frustrated. Time and again, he threw up his hands in frustration at a perceived foul not whistled or a pass that went too long.

If need be, the Germans were rough on him.

Portugal pushed forward ever more, and when Germany was forced to commit two yellow-card fouls in the first five minutes it started to look bleak. Deco was only marginally offside when was in scoring position in the 51st, and Pepe headed just over in a goalmouth scramble minutes later.

Germany's' renowned steely resolve seemed to weaken to the point of collapse. At that point, Ballack brought deliverance.

Looking at a two-goal hole with half an hour to go, the Portuguese got disheartened. Even Ronaldo sent a free kick sky high, and Lehmann, not good enough for Arsenal, started making diving saves.

Over the game, Portugal outshot Germany almost two-to-one, but even with coach Luiz Felipe Scolari gesticulating wildly on the sidelines, it was impossible to get any fluency to their moves.

Now, the Germans will play the winner of today's quarterfinal match between Turkey and Croatia.

* * *

Portugal: Ricardo, Paulo Ferreira, Jose Bosingwa, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Armando Petit (Helder Postiga, 73), Joao Moutinho (Raul Meireles, 31), Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes (Nani, 67), Simao Sabrosa.

Germany: Jens Lehmann, Arne Friedrich, Per Mertesacker, Christoph Metzelder, Philipp Lahm, Simon Rolfes, Bastian Schweinsteiger (Clemens Fritz, 83), Michael Ballack, Thomas Hitzlsperger (Tim Borowski, 73), Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose (Marcell Jansen, 89).

Scorers: Schweinsteiger (G) 22, Klose (G) 26, Gomes (P) 40, Ballack (G) 61 Postiga (P) 87

Referee: Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden)