Germans bow out with a win
The shackles were off last night and with little at stake Germany and Portugal produced an entertaining 3rd place play-off match in Stuttgart. The Germans, playing at home, wanted it more and prevailed 3-1, with Bastian Schweinsteiger the star with his two long range efforts. The first on 59 minutes appeared to be a stunning goal, as he cut in from the left before shooting powerfully past Ricardo from 20 metres. In slow motion however its clear that penalty specialist Ricardo should have saved it. Schweinsteiger’s free kick then caused havoc and Petit deflected it into his own net. His second goal was almost a carbon copy of his first but this time at least there was no goalkeeper error involved as Schweini’s shot curled away from Ricardo and just inside the post.
The match was not all Germany however and Portugal got the consolation goal their inventive play with two minutes left, with Figo delivering the last stunning cross of his 15 year international career which was converted by forgotten man Nuno Gomes with a diving header. This was also the last international match for Oliver Kahn and Pedro Pauleta. Now for tonight’s main course.
