Germany stroll into the last 8

Germany stroll into the last 8
Germany advanced to the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals after two early goals from Lukas Podolski secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Sweden on Saturday, 24 June 2006.
Jurgen Klinsmann's team did not look back once Podolski had fired them in front in the fourth minute and after the same player doubled their lead eight minutes later, only the excellence of Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson denied Germany further goals.
Sweden lost defender Teddy Lucic to a second yellow card after 35 minutes and their faint hopes of a comeback all but evaporated when Henrik Larsson blazed a penalty over the crossbar eight minutes into the second half.
Germany can now look forward to a quarter-final tie in Berlin next Friday against the winners of the Argentina-Mexico game...

Easy win pleases Klinsmann

Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann hailed the performance of his side after the host nation cruised into the quarter-finals following a 2-0 victory over Sweden.
"It could not be better," said Klinsmann. "We went in highly concentrated but strangely enough the red card (for Sweden defender Teddy Lucic) took our rhythm away.
"The penalty could also have been a turning point but we are excited by the team and how they played.
"We were very prepared and we respected them, especially the attacking trio. We did not want to concede a goal. We did not want to give them any breathing space."
Sweden coach Lars Lagerback praised the performance of his side despite their elimination from the tournament.
He said: "It is difficult to beat anyone with 10 men, especially a team like Germany but my players showed a lot of character.
"I'm very proud of the way they played in the second half but we let in two easy goals at the beginning."

Teams:

Germany: Lehmann, Friedrich, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Frings, Ballack, Schneider, Podolski, Klose.

Subs used: Borowski 72 (for Schweinsteiger), Neuville 74 (for Podolski), Kehl 85 (for Frings). Bookings: Frings 27

Sweden: Isaksson, Alexandersson, Mellberg, Lucic, Edman, Ljungberg, Linderoth, Kallstrom, Jonson, Ibrahimovic, Larsson.

Subs used: Hansson 39 (for Kallstrom), Wilhelmsson 52 (for Jonson), Allback 72 (for Ibrahimovic).

Bookings: Lucic 28, Jonson 48, Allback 78

Sent-off: Lucic 35

Referee: Carlos Eugenio Simon (Brazil).

In conclusion:

Helped by a lightning start, the hosts produced a magnificent display of attacking football to brush past a disappointing Sweden team. After conceding those early goals to Podolski, the Scandinavians' cause was not helped by a first-half sending off and Larsson's missed penalty and the two-goal margin could have been greater.
Man of the Match: Miroslav KLOSE (GER):

Miroslav Klose showed that he is more than just a pure goalscorer on Saturday, as his outstanding creative work led to two goals for strike partner Lukas Podolski in Germany’s 2-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 16.
Klose’s five goals at Korea/Japan 2002 were second only to adidas Golden Shoe winner Ronaldo, and after leading the Bundesliga scoring charts last season and finishing the group stage of Germany 2006 as the tournament's leading scorer, the big centre-forward showed that he is more than a great target for high balls in the box, as his skill and vision were critical elements of the build-ups to both goals against Sweden.
With the match in only four minutes old, the Werder Breman man played a wonderful touch to split two defenders and burst into the box. Goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson did well to come off his line and break up Klose’s attempt to shoot, but the ball spilled out perfectly for Podolski, who finished with the keeper still on the ground and the net exposed.
Klose needed just eight more minutes to create Germany’s second goal. This time he dribbled along the edge of the penalty area and drew a crowd of Swedish defenders before cleverly playing a reverse ball for Podolski, who found himself in acres of space to fire a shot past Isaksson.
"Klose did a great job and had the assists for the goals,” said FIFA Technical Study Group member Rodrigo Kenton. “He played well with Podolski and he was always positive in his efforts. He was offensively very important throughout the game."