Germany beat Portugal 3-1 for bronze
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-07-09 08:37
Bastian Schweinsteiger missed the tournament's first hat-trick but
made a double to help hosts Germany beat Portugal 3-1 in their World Cup
third place match on Saturday.
Germany's Bastian
Schweinsteiger (L) and Portugal's Paulo Ferreira fight for the ball during
their World Cup 2006 third place soccer match in Stuttgart July 8,
2006.[Reuters] |
Thanks to the Bayern Munich forward's second half brace and a Petit own goal
in the 62 minute, the hosts enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 lead 11 minutes from the
final whistle.
Portugal managed to score a consolation goal through substitute Nuno Gomes's
shot in the 88th minute.
"What happened here were absolutely crazy, what this team showed in this
world cup can't be described by language," said German coach Juergen Klinsmann.
"In each day of the past seven weeks, we lived with emotions. I can't find a
word to acclaim our team."
The hosts started the third place match without captain Michael Ballack,
defender Per Mertesacker and right-back Arne Friedrich. Klinsmann opted to give
opportunities to as many reserves as possible.
"We believe the players on bench have the same value. We always give them
confidence. We together trained very hard througout the whole seven weeks for
the moment," he said.
After a goalless first half, Schweinsteiger broke the deadlock in the 56th
minutes as the Bayern Munich forward fired home a scintillating shot from the
edge of the area after cutting in from the left.
Only six minutes later, Lukas Podolski earned hosts a free
kick.Schweinsterger drove a low cross and Petit's attempt to clear went right
into his own net.
In the 79th minute, the 22-year-old scored his second goal of the night with
another spanking strike.
He received the ball on the left and took a couple of touches towards the
middle before firing a swerving ball just inside the right post from 25 yards.
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