Michael Ballack’s stunning second-half free-kick earned Germany a 1-0 victory over co-hosts Austria at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna that secured their place in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals. Germany had laboured in the first half, but Ballack’s unstoppable 30-yard effort settled their nerves early in the second period and Austria were unable to take the few chances they managed to create in the remainder of the game.

Tedeschi avanti, ma che fatica. Davanti a un’Austria desiderosa di uscire di scena con onore, la squadra di Loew fa il minimo indispensabile grazie a una prodezza di Ballack, ma mostra tutte le sue lacune in fase di costruzione di gioco oltre ai problemi di finalizzazione evidenziati dagli errorori di Klose, Gomez e Neuville.