Euro 1996 champions Germany beat hosts Austria 1-0 in Vienna to set up a mouthwatering quarterfinal clash against Luis Felipe Scolari's Portugal. The winner came from the boot of German skipper Michael Ballack, who slammed home a wonderful free kick in the second half.

Joachim Loew made only one change to the side that lost to Croatia, bringing in Arne Freidrich for Marcell Jansen. Striker Mario Gomez continued his horror tournament when he missed the simplest of chances from two yards out in the fourth minute after Miroslav Klose had done some great work to square it for him. The Germans were probably nervous, with the Austrians looking for a repeat of the '78 miracle of Cordoba. The home fans shouted for a penalty when Erwin Hoffer seemed to go down under Metzelder's challenge but the  referee Manuel Gonzalez was not interested. A minute later, Hoffer was picked out by a fine pass, but his first touch was poor and Lehmann was on hand to thwart any danger. Austrian keeper Jurgen Macho found himself tested by Lukas Podolski's fierce strike at the other end. Towards the end of the first half, there was drama as the Spanish referee sent both Loew and his Austrian counterpart Hickersberger to the stands for arguing with the fourth official. Should the ban stand, Loew will have no contact with his players after they enter the stadium against Portugal.

In the 48th minute, Austria skipper Andreas Ivanschitz brought Philipp Lahm down, and Michael Ballack blasted home into the top corner from 30 yards out. The best free kick of Euro 2008, at least till now.