Ballack seals it for Germany

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-18  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

GERMANY hailed its team's advance to the quarterfinals of Euro 2008 on Tuesday but fretted about a less-than-sharp performance which saw it scrape through 1-0 against unfancied co-hosts Austria.

Top-selling Bild newspaper applauded captain Michael Ballack for "redeeming" Germany with his powerful 25-metre freekick at the start of the second half but criticized virtually every other aspect of the German game.

"The manner in which Germany scraped past the third-rate Austrians should give pause for thought," the paper said. "Until the Ballack goal it was a battle of nerves full of individual mistakes."

Former soccer great Franz Beckenbauer said Joachim Loew's team would have to raise its game significantly if it were to have any hopes in the next round against Portugal and its star striker.

"Do we have a chance with such a performance against Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese side? No, definitely not!" Beckenbauer wrote in his column in the same newspaper.

Germany plays Portugal in the last eight in Basel tomorrow.

"We are pleased that we showed today that we belong in the quarterfinals even if we haven't played as convincingly as we would have liked to," Loew said. "But it's also clear to me that we have to make an enormous improvement for the quarterfinals.

"I am sure, though, that the team will now get the lift we need, and that we can play competitively against Portugal."

Needing to avoid defeat to stay in the tournament, Germany had a nervous start against the host, with striker Mario Gomez botching a shot from one-metre out.

Ballack's rocket freekick four minutes into the second half calmed the German team, but Austria kept up the pressure throughout, even if it mounted few serious threats to keeper Jens Lehmann's goal.

Meanwhile, Lukas Podolski, Germany's best player so far at the tournament, is in doubt for match against Portugal because of a calf injury.

"There is a big question mark over Lukas," Loew said yesterday.

Podolski has scored three goals so far in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Austrian players want Josef Hickersberger to stay on as coach despite the team's elimination in the group stage.

"I hope he'll stay, that's my wish," captain Andreas Ivanschitz said. "The whole team is behind him, and has been so for the last 2 and half years. We've become a real team thanks to him. But the decision is up to him."

Hickersberger said it was "too early" to speak about his future.

"We'll have to wait and see," he said.