Germany 3-1 Portugal

2006 World Cup Third Place Play-Off
8pm (BST), Saturday 8 July 2006
Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart


Germany finished their World Cup with an emphatic display against Portugal to finish the tournament in third place.

Bastian Schweinsteiger scored a brace and Armando Petit put the ball past his own keeper to hand the host nation the win.

Nuno Gomes grabbed some consolation for Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side when he nodded in Luis Figo's cross, in what was the Inter midfielder’s last game for his country.

The first half was a surprisingly open affair with both sides looking ambitious and energetic despite the inevitable disappointment both would be feeling after losing a semi-final.

Although Germany and Portugal were able to reach the final third with relative ease, the quality of finishing was not on a par with that which had propelled these two sides to the last four of the World Cup.

Miroslav Klose was frustrated in his attempts to add to his goal tally, ending the competition with five goals that could see him win the golden boot award barring a hat-trick from Thierry Henry in Sunday's final.

It was Schweinsteiger who opened the scoring in the 56th minute with a curling effort after racing in from the left wing, the dipping strike caught Ricardo off balance and he was unable to get a hand on the ball.

Five minutes later Germany doubled their lead when Petit deflected the ball past his keeper even though Schweinsteiger’s free-kick looked to be sailing wide. 

It was the German number seven who then put the result beyond doubt with 12 minutes remaining when he slammed in another blistering shot from the left from all of 25 yards.

The host nation finish the tournament on a high with a wonderful victory to give their fans even more reason to celebrate a successful World Cup.

Germany: Kahn, Jansen, Nowotny, Metzelder, Lahm, Schneider, Kehl, Frings, Schweinsteiger (Hitzlsperger 79), Klose (Neuville 64), L Podolski (71 M Hanke )
Subtitutes not used: Asamoah, Ballack, Borowski, Friedrich, Hildebrand, Lehmann, Mertesacker, Huth, Odonkor,

Goals: Schweinsteiger 56, 78, Petit og 61

Portugal: Ricardo, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Costa, Meira, Nuno Valente (Nuno Gomes 69), Costinha (Petit 45), Maniche, Deco, Ronaldo, Pauleta (Figo 77), Simao,
Subtitutes not used: Boa Morte, Caneira, Miguel, Paulo Santos, Postiga, Quim, Tiago, Viana,

Goals: Nuno Gomes 88

Ref: Toru Kamikawa

Att: 52000