Match #63, Third Place Match: Germany vs. Portugal
Germany 3-1 Portugal
(Bastian Schweinsteiger 56, 78, Petit 60og; Nuno Gomes 88)
Man of the Match: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Yellow Cards: Torsten Frings, Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Ricardo Costa, Costinha, Paulo Ferreira (Portugal)
Referee: Toru Kamikawa (Japan)
Attendance: 52,000 (Stuttgart)
1-0: Schweinsteiger gets control of the ball and comes out to the center of the pitch outside the box. He lets a fantastic curling shot go that climbs over all the men in the box and right past the grasp of Ricardo.
2-0: Schweinsteiger takes a free kick from the left side and it seems to be heading right towards the Portuguese defense; however, Petit has a brain cramp and knocks the ball into his own net instead of making what should have been a fairly uneventful clearance.
3-0: Schweinsteiger does it again, as he’s been in on all three German goals and this one is very similar to the first goal. Comes down the field on the left side, cuts into center and sends another fine shot into the top-right corner. A fine way to end his night.
3-1: Luis Figo ends his international career with an assist. He comes in on the right flank and sends a trademark cross in that meets the head of Nuno Gomes; he dives with the header and grabs a deserved, if meaningless goal.
Thoughts: The third place game can be entertaining but it doesn’t always carry a lot of meaning with it; but just like four years ago, it carried meaning for the hosts. This time, Germany did what South Korea couldn’t do and sent their fans home happy by winning their final game; unfortunately, it was the third place playoff and not the final, but it was a well-deserved win in any event. The first half was pretty dire, and it didn’t exactly look like either team really wanted this one. In the second half, Germany finally showed the form that got them all the way to the final four, and a career performance from Schweinsteiger combined with an error by Petit gave Germany a 3-0 lead that was impossible to recover from. The Figo/Gomes partnership combined at the end for a nice consolation goal, but Portugal should have been flattered to actually get a number beside their name on the scoresheet; Germany were rarely troubled by the Portuguese attackers and never panicked.
Portugal left a bad taste in my mouth during their last few games against France and Germany. Not skill-wise; trust me, Portugal have more than enough skill and will likely be in the mix when Euro 2008 kicks off in two years’ time. Portugal have a few players who like to either embellish any contact made on them, or who simply like to dive over an outstretched leg to make it seem like there was contact. One of the leading offenders? Cristiano Ronaldo, who I’ve really started to detest as the tournament wound down. He’s an extremely skillful player and has loads of talent, but his attitude and behavior on the pitch leaves something to be desired. If he doesn’t shape up soon, he’s going to pay the price; as it stands now, he’s likely going to have a long season. Basically demanding to be sold to Real Madrid or Barcelona doesn’t help matters either. It’s a shame that those antics overshadow a good World Cup campaign by the Portuguese; Scolari should be thrilled at another top finish in an international tournament, and fourth place isn’t shabby by any means; however, they could have had a lot more if they were consistant and disciplined.
Germany were done in during the last possible moments by Italy, but they rebounded in style against Portugal. They scored the most goals out of any team in the tournament and surprisingly scored seven of them without Ballack in the lineup; nothing against Ballack, as he’s a fantastic player, but that’s a bit of a surprising statistic. In any event, the hosts made the most out of home advantage and nearly made it all the way to the final. Klinsmann did an excellent job behind the bench and the players gave it their all from start to finish. I don’t know if Germany can give it another go in South Africa, but maybe a good run in Euro 2008 is in the cards. They were worthy winners against Portugal, and can be proud of the fact that they had - and hosted - a great tournament.