Germany have begun to fulfil expectations as favourites to win Euro 2008 by putting in a convincing display to beat Portugal and progress to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Bastin Schweinsteiger, the German striker, scored his teams first goal and set up two more in a 3-2 victory over a well-fancied Portuguese team on Thursday.
The match in Basel, Switzerland, saw an impressive Germany go ahead 1-0 after Lukas Podolski superbly kept two defenders at bay down the left flank to cross for Schweinsteiger.
Schweinsteiger had managed to get ahead of the Portuguese back line and powered the ball past goalkeeper Ricardo.
Fast-paced football
The German's fast-paced football ensured their control of the game, which the score line did not completely reflect.
They went 2-0 up on 26 minutes - four minutes after scoring their first goal - via a Schweinsteiger free kick into the box pulling Ricardo off his line and out of position, letting Miroslav Klose head in.
Captain Michael Ballack gave Germany a 3-1 lead just past the hour, after Nuno Gomes scored a rallying goal just before half time to give the battling Portuguese hope.
Portuguese substitute Helder Postiga provided Luiz Felipe Scolari's men with impetus late on with a headed goal but it was not enough to break the Germany's resilience.
Germany will now face the winners of Friday's match between Croatia and Turkey.
'We can fight'
Schweinsteiger said: "I'm so happy we won.
"We're in the top four and we've got the best team in my eyes. We saw we can play football, we can fight and German virtues are still there."
Joachim Loew, the German coach, watched from the stands after being sent off following a dispute with the fourth official in their last group game.
He said: "We had a lot of courage today, had good combinations, moved well without the ball - all the things that we've done well in the past we did tonight."
Scolari, the Portuguese coach, after what became his last match in charge of the country before taking over at Chelsea, said: "I leave with a clear conscience.
"I always did my best and today was no exception. I did the best I could, hoping the players would do the same."