Germany vs Turkey Highlights: Euro 2008 shows
Euro-2008 semi-finals
Date: Wed Jun 25
Kick-off: 1945 BST
Venue: St. Jakob Park, Basel

Here is The Video highlights Turkey vs Germany


Goals


Schweinsteiger Goal 1-1 Germany v Turkey

Portugal Vs Germany Highlights Video

UEFA EURO 2008 QUARTER FINAL

Euro 2008 Highlights
Date: Thu 19th June
Kick off: 19:45 BST
Venue: St Jakob-Park, Basel
Euro 2008 Quarter Final Highlights

Euro 2008 Quarter Final - Portugal Vs Germany Highlights

1st Half Highlights and Goals




2nd Half Highlights and Goals

Germany booked their place in the semi-finals of Euro 2008 with a thrilling 3-2 win over Portugal.






GERMANY

Lehmann: 6.5 - Was blameless on both goals and in truth did not put a foot wrong all night. Commanded his area well.

Friedrich: 6 - Had a nervy 20 minute spell before half time, and struggled against Nani after his introduction. Can be exposed.

Mertesacker: 6 - Won everything in the air as is to be expected, but still looks suspect when being run at by players.

Metzelder: 6 - His fitness is improving but he still resembles something of a blithering idiot. Is lucky that there are no outstanding forwards on Germany’s side of the draw.

Lahm: 7.5 - Has been outstanding at Euro 2008 and was again excellent tonight, despite facing up against the dangerous Bosingwa. The contest between the two was a fascinating duel.

Schweinsteiger: 9 - Electric tonight, crucifying Ferreira at times. Scored the first goal, and created the second and third. What more can you ask for?

Ballack: 9 - A mountain in the middle of the park. Bullied the Portugal midfield, involved in the first goal, and scored Germany’s third. A real leader.

Rolfes: 6.5 - Filled in well for the injured Frings. Nothing spectacular but was disciplined and kept things ticking over in the middle-of-the-park.

Hitzlsperger: 6 - Offered balance down the left, even if he was not too involved in the action before being substituted.

Klose: 7.5 - Had been under-par in the group stages, but tonight was his best performance of the tournament so far. Held the ball up well, linked the play and took his goal well.

Podolski: 7 - Drifted in and out of the game, but had some excellent moments, creating Schweinsteiger’s opener, and also firing inches wide with a left foot rocket.

Subs:

Borowski: 6 – Came on for the final 15 minutes to add some defensive stability into the midfield.

Fritz: N/A-

Jansen- N/A


PORTUGAL

Ricardo: 4 – Has been shaky throughout these Euros and he made a suicidal decision to race off his line on Ballack’s goal.

Bosingwa: 7.5 – Outstanding going forward, bombing down the flank at every opportunity. His crossing was excellent too, creating a fine chance for Moutinho at 0-0.

Pepe: 5.5 – A powerful defender who coped physically with the German attack, even if he was dragged out of position on a few too many occasions. Missed a sitter to equalise at 1-2.

Carvalho: 5.5 – Relatively sound at the back, but not the dominant presence he has been for Chelsea this season. Should have been organizing the defence at set-pieces.

Ferreira: 3 – A horror-show from Ferreira, who was always going to be a weak link. Troubled by Schweinsteiger, and at fault on both the first and third goals.

Moutinho: 5 – Had a poor first half-hour before he was forced off with injury. Missed a sitter at 0-0, and was completely over-run in midfield.

Petit: 6 – In the side to protect the back four but in large failed to do so, particularly in the first half when Germany broke past him at will.

Simao: 5 – Started brightly and missed an early chance but ultimately was a disappointment. Most of what he attempted failed to come off, and he wasted the ball on too many occasions.

Deco: 8 – A class act, and easily his side’s best player. At the centre of every Portugal move. Elegant, inventive, he helped create Nuno Gomes’ goal, and also set-up chances for Simao and Pepe.

Ronaldo: 6 – Had an excellent 20 minute spell at the end of the first half when he was involved in Nuno Gomes’ goal, and then shot just wide himself. However he went missing for spells of the game.

Nuno Gomes: 6 – Scored Portugal’s goal to bring them back into the game but did not make any other contribution before he was substituted.

Substitutes

Raul Meireles: 6 – Helped the Portuguese backline more than Moutinho, but did not offer too much.

Nani: 7 – A bright spark after coming on, going on one excellent run, and providing the cross for Postiga’s goal.

Postiga: 6 – Set up a grandstand finish by heading home on 86 minutes.

German midfielder Bastian returned to the German line-up looking to make amends for his red card against Croatia. He scored the opener once again showed his best form as Germany made it through to the semi final.



Germany have become the first side through to the semi finals after defeating Portugal 3-2 in Basel. Without trainer Joachim Löw, they took a 2-0 lead through goals from Schweinsteiger and Klose.

Nuno Gomes pulled one back shortly before half time only for Michael Ballack to restore their two-goal lead with a header.

A late goal from Postiga set up a grandstand finish but the Germans prevailed to make it into the last four.

“I am extremely happy that we won the game” Schweinsteiger said after the game.

“We are now amongst the top four and have knocked one of the best teams out of the tournament.

“We played for the trainer tonight. I knew that I made a mistake against Croatia, so I wanted to help the team as much as I possibly could.

“In football anything is possible and tonight we showed the German character” he added.

Germany Vs Portugal Live Streaming Online Euro 2008 Quarter Finals Live on June 19, 2008. Watch Germany Vs Portugal Live Streaming and Highlights

20:45 - 22:45	Euro 2008							Live!
			Portugal	vs.	Germany

Germany Vs Croatia Highlights and Video Euro 2008 on June 12, 2008.

Germany Vs Croatia Euro 2008 Highlights :

Stage: Group B
Venue: Wortherseestadion
Date: June 12, 2008


Germany Vs Croatia Starting Lineup/Eleven :


Germany Probable Starting Lineup :

Coach: Joachim Loew
Formation: 4-4-2
Defence: Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Metzelder, Marcell Jansen
Midfield: Clemens Fritz, Torsten Frings, Ballack, Podolski
Forwards: Klose, Gomez

Croatia Probable Starting Lineup :

Coach: Slaven Bilic
Formation: 4-4-2
Defence: Dario Simic, Robert Kovac, Simunic, Vedran Corluka
Midfield: Niko Kovac, Luka Modric, Darijo Srna, Niko Kranjcar
Forwards: Ivan Rakitic, Ivica Olic


First Half Highlights

Second Half Highlights

Goals

Croatia stunned Germany by beating them 2-1 in their Group B fixture.

GERMANY

Lehmann: 6- Beaten twice but not at fault for either goal. Let down by Jansen for the first and beaten by a wicked deflection for the second. He pulled off a top reflex save in the first half to deny Kranjcar.

Lahm: 6- Another quiet game from Lahm. We didn’t see him getting forward as much as he does with Bayern, and he had to switch to left back in the second half as Löw switched things around.

Mertesacker: 6.5- Began the game very well blocking and intercepting everything the Croats threw forward, but was helpless to stop them scoring twice.

Metzelder: 6- Metzelder still looked a long way off the pace at times, but is getting through on defensive ability and cleverness. Lost possession cheaply at times, but did get back late on to deny Modric a goal scoring chance.

Jansen: 4.5- Jansen had a bit of a nightmare. Looked good going forward but hopeless defensively. Lost Srna in the box for Croatia’s opener and was hauled off by Joachim Löw at half time

Frings: 6.5- Solid enough but not his dynamic best.

Ballack: 6.5- Captain Ballack did his best to drive the team forward in the second half after going 2-0 down. His header ultimately lead to Podolski’s goals late on.

Fritz: 6- Had a better game than last time out against Poland, but not much of a threat going forward. Had to drop back to full back at half time with Jansen going off and Lahm switching flanks.

Podolski: 7- Another goal for the Bayern striker but it wasn’t enough to spare the Germans defeat. Seems to be enjoying his new role out on the left of midfield.

Klose: 5- A rather anonymous game from the German striker. Difficult to remember any threatening chances on goal.

Gomez: 6- The number one German striker had another quiet game and failed to really threaten the Croat goal. Substituted in the second half for Schweinsteiger.

Subs:

Odonkor: 5- Didn’t really have the desired impact after being brought on at half time

Schweinsteiger: 5- Did inject a little skill and direction after coming on, but blotted his copy book by becoming the first player sent off at this summer’s finals

Kuranyi- n/a


CROATIA

Pletikosa: 6.5- Not too busy overall but did produce a fine save from Ballack in the first half. Helpless to stop Podolski’s goal in the second period.

Corluka: 6.5- A good overall display from the Manchester City full back. Didn’t venture forward as much as Panic on the other flank.

R. Kovac: 7.0- A solid defensive performance from Kovac although the danger from Klose and Gomez wasn’t as great as he may have feared prior to the game. His weak header set-up Podolski for the German goal.

Simunic: 7.0- A fine display from the Hertha Berlin defender alongside Kovac at the heart of the Croatian defence.

Pranjic: 7.5- The Heerenveen full back made plenty of forays forward and looked secure at the back. Secure in defence and a threat going forward.

Srna: 8.0- The Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder had a very good game running himself into the ground before being substituted in the second half. He scored the first goal and was a constant threat with his deliveries from corners and free kicks.

N.Kovac: 7.0- There was some tough tackling from the Salzburg midfielder, and while unspectacular, he performed an important job for Croatia in the heart f the midfield allowing the likes of Modric and Kranjcar forward

Kranjcar: 7.0- A fine display from the Portsmouth midfielder. He was pushed a little further forward to support the lone striker Olic. He wasted a glorious chance to make it 2-0 in the first half after firing straight at Lehmann. Used possession well.

Modric: 8- Ever busy and always looking to create. He kept going right to the end and very nearly got on the end of a good counter attack only to be denied by the stronger Metzelder.

Rakitic: 7.0- The Schalke midfielder had a fine game and linked play up well. It was his cross that was deflected onto the post leading to the second goal from Olic.

Olic: 7.5- The Croat lone striker ran himself into the ground before being replaced in the second half by the fresher Petric. He was rewarded for his efforts with the second goal of the evening.

Subs:

Petric: 6- Did well when brought on to provide fresher legs after Olic had tired.

Leko: 5- The main talking point will be the incident that led to the sending off of Schweinsteiger. He was pushed but he went down rather theatrically.

Knezevic: n/a

GERMANY

Lehmann 6.5 – Looked shaky at times in the first half, and his handling was less than secure. Fumbled a cross in the first 40 seconds that could have led to Kryznowek scoring. However he made a fine stop from Saganowski late on.

Lahm 8 – Neutralised Kryznowek very well, never losing out in a one-on-one battle. The most impressive of the Germany defenders. Also did well offensively.

Metzelder 6 – Looks completely unfit after his long injury absence and will be crucified by a better opponent. Having said this he didn’t do too bad tonight and made one vital interception from a Guerriero cross.

Mertesacker 6.5 – Won everything in the air as would be expected, and was reasonably solid on the floor.

Jansen 5.5 – Struggled really badly against the dangerous Lobodzinski in the first period, but improved after the break.

Fritz 7 – Very lively down the German right. Crossed well and gave his marker Golanski a number of problems. Somewhat surprisingly taken off on 55 minutes.

Frings 7.5 – Was superb in the first 25 minutes, then faded a little, before regaining his dominance in the final 30. A class act when he is on form.

Ballack 7 – Provided a superb through pass for Klose’s early chance, and had some shorts spells of excellence throughout the game. Brought out a superb save from Boruc at 1-0.

Podolski 8.5 – Germany’s best player in the first half, getting behind Golanski at will, and putting his side into the lead. Added a second after the break with a thumping volley into the top corner.

Klose 7 – Wasted a one-on-one chance early on when he tried to pass to Gomez instead of shoot himself. Made up for it soon after by setting up Podolski for the opener. Also involved in the second goal.

Gomez 6 – Excellent pass that started the move for Podolski’s first, but a disappointment thereafter. Missed a good chance at 1-0.

Substitutes

Schweinsteiger 6.5 – Has had a poor season but did relatively well and got behind Golanski, and also had a few shots at goal.

Hitzlsperger 6 – Only had 15 minutes to make an impact, and helped close out the game.

Kuranyi N.A – Only on the field for a matter of seconds.


POLAND

Boruc 7 – Offered little protection from the defence in front of him, and could do nothing on either goal. Made one stunning stop from Ballack at 1-0. Undoubtedly a top-class keeper.

Wasilewski 5.5 – Could not cope with Podolski in the first half, although he improved after the break.

Bak 5 – The 35-year-old showed all of his advancing years tonight. His lack of pace was a real problem, and his command of the defensive line was also non-existent.

Zewlakow 5 – Almost identical assessment to his centre back partner Bak. Pushed up suicidally when Germany scored their first goal.

Golanski 4.5 – The fourth and final member of the Marx brothers. His mistake prior to Podolski’s second was of Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zippo proportions.

Dudka 6.5 – Neat and tidy in the middle of the park, and held his own for spells, but no cutting edge to his game.

Lewandowski 7 – Did well in the centre of midfield. Distributed the ball, and also got forward well, firing in a number of long-range shots.

Lobodzinski 7 – Caused havoc down the right in the first half, beating his marker Jansen on a number of occasions. Also forced a fine save out of Lehmann. Faded after the break and was substituted.

Zurawski 5.5 – Never really got into the match, and missed a fine chance, scuffing the ball wide when well placed. Subbed at half time.

Kryznowek 6 – Gave his all as usual, but got little change down the flank against Lahm. Had more success when he cut inside, and had a few half chances, one coming in the first 40 seconds.

Smolarek 5.5 – A disappointment. Would have been expected to cause the Germany centre backs some problems but it never really happened for him.

Substitutes

Guerreiro 7 – Gave the Poles a lift after his introduction at half time, showing some Brazilian-like touches.

Piszczek 6 – Never got into the game after replacing the impressive Lobodzinski.

Saganowski 6 – Almost grabbed a consolation at the end but was denied by a fine Lehmann save.


Original analysist from goal.com

Euro 2008 Group B - Game 4 - Lukas Podolski netted both goals against the country of his birth to give Germany a winning start to their Euro 2008 campaign against Poland in Klagenfurt.

Group B kicks-off on Sunday and tournament favourites Germany will be looking to get off to a flying start against neighbours Poland, who are in the first European Championships finals. Everything looks set for a cracking match up.

Best Foot Forward

Joachim Löw’s side rightly come into the tournament as one of the favourites following a superb qualification process and Germany will no doubt be looking to get themselves off to a winning start against Poland in Klagenfurt in their opener.

The Germans cruised through their qualifying group that included the Czech Republic and many believe they finished second on purpose as to avoid a ‘Group of Death’ like the one that Italy, France and Holland find themselves in.

The two teams met in the group stage at the World Cup 2006 in Dortmund and it took a 91st minute goal from substitute Oliver Neville to secure a narrow 1-0 win for the host nation. The occasion was huge then and the rivalry is such that the forthcoming clash is likely to be just as massive.

The German team that took to the field two years ago against Poland remains pretty much intact with just one or two changes expected. Co-trainer Hansi Flick has even joked that the Germans will be using exactly the same team talk they used last time out.

The one worry concerning the Germans going into the tournament is surprisingly their defence. Keeper Jens Lehmann has not had a lot of football this season at Arsenal and has not looked on top of his game during recent warm-up games.

Christophe Metzelder, a Löw favourite, will partner Per Mertesacker in the centre of the defence, but he too has missed a lot of games this season for Real Madrid through injury. The one positive thing is that the same concerns were being raised prior to the World Cup in 2006 and they proved unfounded as the Germans reached the semi-final.

Poland Look To Beenhakker

After breaking new ground in qualifying for their first European Championship finals, Poland will enter their opening Group B match against Germany looking for another first in the form of a long-awaited win over their neighbours. The Poles have failed to register a win in the previous 15 meetings between the two sides.

Poland will look to the experience of their coach Leo Beenhakker to see them through against the Germans. After losing his opening game in the qualifying group, the Dutch coach led the country to the top of the group ahead of Portugal and qualified the Poles for the European Championships for the first time.

The Polish tabloid press have certainly been stoking up the fires in recent days with a series of inflammatory front pages which haven’t gone down to well in the German camp. The have been images of Beenhakker holding the severed heads of both Ballack and Löw and plenty of jingoistic references.

Coach Leo Beenhakker has described the publicity stunt as “mad, dirty and sick” and will be hoping the incident doesn’t impact too much upon his side’s preparations for the vital opening clash with the Germans.

The label of underdogs will suit the Poles. The pressure will be very much on the Germans and to even gain a point will be seen as a success. A win however would surely cause national jubilation.

FORM GUIDE

Germany

17/11/07 Germany 4 Cyprus 0 (Euro Qualifier)

27/11/07 Germany 0 Wales 0 (Euro Qualifier)

06/02/08 Austria 0 Germany 3 (Friendly)

26/03/08 Switzerland 0 Germany 4 (Friendly)

27/05/08 Germany 2 Belarus 2 (Friendly)

31/05/08 Germany 2 Serbia 1 (Friendly)

Poland

06/02/08 Czech Rep 0 Poland 2 (Friendly)

27/02/08 Poland 2 Estonia 0 (Friendly)

26/0308 Poland 0 USA 3 (Friendly)

26/05/08 Poland 1 Macedonia 1 (Friendly)

28/05/08 Poland 1 Albania 1 (Friendly)

01/06/08 Poland 1 Denmark 1 (Friendly)


TEAM NEWS

Germany

Joachim Löw has intimated that he may play Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski on the left hand side of midfield in what will be the only real surprise in his line-up. Mario Gomez looks to have won the battle to partner Miroslav Klose up front with Marcell Jansen to play at left back with Bayern team mate Philipp Lahm on the other flank.

Predicted Line-Up: Lehmann, Lahm, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Jansen, Frings, Ballack, Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Gomez, Klose

Poland

Poland’s preparations have been hit after Dortmund midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski suffered a hamstring injury which means he will miss the finals.

However, there is better news regarding defender Michal Zewlakow, who has recovered from a leg injury and will be ready for his country’s opening game in Group B. The other late injury news concerns third-choice keeper Tomasz Kuszczak, who has suffered a back injury and is also out of the tournament.

Predicted Line-Up: Boruc, Zewlakow, Wawrzyniak, Bak, Wasilewski, Lewandowski, Lobodzinski, Murawski, Dudka, Smolarek, Zurawski

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Germany- Michael Ballack

The Chelsea midfielder will want to lead his country to Euro 2008 glory and end a barren run which has seen the Germans not win the tournament since 1996. A win in Austria/ Switzerland will also go a long way to dampen Ballacks’s personal disappointment of losing out on this season’s Champions League. He has hit form at just the right time towards the end of the season and should be Germany’s key-man in the coming weeks.

Poland- Mariusz Lewandowski

Poland face an uphill task if they are to cause an upset and beat the Germans in this Group B opener. The midfield area will be key and if enforcer Lewandowski can shackle Ballack then part of the battle will have been won. The Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder will also look to get forward at set-pieces to provide a goal threat.

PREDICTION

Germany are a real tournament side and will be looking to top the group despite three matches to come against Poland, Croatia and Austria. They haven’t looked to be on top form in their last two friendly matches against Belarus and Serbia, but should be good enough to secure a win over rivals Poland in this Group B opener.

Germany 2-0 Poland

TENERO, Switzerland, - Germany arrived at their Swiss base camp for Euro 2008 on Tuesday with no real injury worries although there were still a few doubts over the starting lineup for their first game against Poland.

The Group B favourites were welcomed at Lugano airport by 100 schoolchildren in German colours but coach Joachim Loew was in the mood to get straight to work as he scheduled a training session for the first afternoon.

After unconvincing performances in recent friendlies - a 2-2 draw with Belarus and a 2-1 win over Serbia - Loew has yet to decide on his team to face Poland in Klagenfurt on Sunday.

'We haven't had the last word on who'll be playing,' Loew said after the Serbia game. 'The sessions we have in Switzerland will have a big say. There are still questions to answer.'

Loew's concerns will focus on centre-back Christoph Metzelder, who is fit again after a serious foot injury but has yet to show he has recaptured his best form.

The other strong candidate to partner Per Mertesacker at the back is Arne Friedrich.

Loew is considering playing striker Lukas Podolski as a midfielder to help make up for the loss of Bernd Schneider, who was ruled out by a back injury before the tournament.

That could see Bastian Schweinsteiger switch to the right side of midfield in what would be a risky reshuffle.

There is another question mark over who will play alongside Miroslav Klose up front, with Mario Gomez and Kevin Kuranyi the two options.

Oliver Neuville, who came off the bench to score a late winner against Poland when the sides met in the group stage at the 2006 World Cup, should again be among the substitutes.

Germany will go on to play Croatia and co-hosts Austria in their remaining Group B games.

Metzelder: Spirit will make up for lack of quality

Defender Christoph Metzelder admits Germany do not have as much quality as some of their rivals at Euro 2008.


Joachim Low's side are the favourites to take the title in Austria and Switzerland ahead of the likes of Spain and Italy.

But their preparations for the tournament have not gone too smoothly - a draw with Belarus was followed by a late win over Serbia - and Metzelder feels the team cannot compete on the ability front with their main competitors.

The 27-year-old does not believe that rules them out of the running for the title, though.

The Real Madrid centre-back told Kicker magazine: 'Other teams have more quality than us.

'But that is not all that matters in a tournament. We have other characteristics, which in such a short time frame can compensate in some way for our deficiencies - team spirit, a good atmosphere.

'We have already been able to generate a sense of euphoria in the team with the World Cups in 2002 and 2006 (where Germany finished second and third respectively).

'We have to create that again this time. To do that we obviously need a good start against Poland (in their opening group game on June 8).'

The 27-year-old added: 'I have already said that other teams are ahead of us in terms of quality. But the players in our squad have proved in qualification that they can keep up with the level.

'We are on the right path in our development. And I assume we can add to it on the tournament.'

The former Dortmund defender is confident of being fully fit for the start of the championship.

Metzelder recovered just in time to be included in Low's squad after missing much of the Primera Liga season with a foot injury and played in the friendlies with Belarus and Serbia.

He said: 'I already felt much fresher (against Serbia) than I did against Belarus and am on the right track. The training sessions went well and for the first time had no problems in the foot that I had the operation on.'

Germany's Lukas Podolski could play on the left-hand side of midfield at Euro 2008 rather than his customary position up front.

The Bayern Munich man impressed coach Joachim Low with his display on the left in Germany's friendly win over Serbia at the weekend.


Podolski's deployment in a wide-midfield role would allow Low to partner first-choice Miroslav Klose with Stuttgart's Mario Gomez in attack.

Former Cologne striker Podolski has struggled to find the net since joining Bayern, while Gomez hit 19 Bundesliga goals last season.

Low told Munich-based newspaper TZ: 'Lukas' outing in this position pleased me most of all against Serbia.

'Normally he is a striker, but he can also come from midfield. The possibility of playing Lukas on the left-hand side from the beginning or switching him there during the game is certainly an option.'

The 22-year-old may be in line for a change of club as well as position.

Fans of newly-promoted Bundesliga side Cologne are clubbing together in a bid to bring him back to the club.

Podolski was brought up through the Cologne youth system and made the breakthrough into the Germany team while on their books thanks to his record of 46 goals in 81 games.

His struggles at Bayern have alerted the Cologne faithful, with a group of several hundred now hoping they can fund a transfer.

'We want to do something for Cologne and this is a serious issue,' explained organiser Michael Breitkopf in the Kolner Express newspaper.

'Cologne has millions of fans so if, theoretically speaking, everybody gave 10 euros, we would soon have Poldi back here.

'At the start of next week we are going to open up a bank account for donations.'

Breitkopf and the fans want to save Podolski from what they see as a miserable situation with Bayern, where Klose and Luca Toni are regularly picked ahead of him.

'We cannot just sit and watch how he is wasting away with Bayern,' added Breitkopf.

German captain Michael Ballack shrugged off his disappointment at losing out to Manchester United in last Wednesday's Champions League by saying on Monday he couldn't wait for Euro 2008 to begin.

The 31-year-old Chelsea playmaker had watched disbelievingly as first club captain John Terry missed what would have been the winning penalty and then Nicolas Anelka - who had refused to take one of the first five penalties - have his sudden death effort saved by Edwin van der Sar to give United victory.

However, Ballack insisted on Monday after joining up with his national team-mates as they prepare for a pre Euro friendly against Belarus on Tuesday that four days with his family had allowed him to relax and dull somewhat the disappointing result.

“I am delighted to be back among the squad, I am really impatient for the tournament to begin,” said Ballack, who has scored 35 goals in 79 matches for Germany.

“I have had several days to get it (the Champions League defeat) out of my system.

“But now, I begin again and its full steam ahead,” added Ballack.

Ballack is expected to play for between half-an-hour and 45 minutes against Belarus, the penultimate warm-up match for the Germans ahead of the beginning of Euro, which is being co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland and runs from June 7-29.

Six players, though, will take no part in the match in Kaiserslautern having stayed behind at the Germans training camp in Mallorca.

They include the injury-plagued Tim Borowski, who is suffering from 'flu, Mario Gomez has a calf worry, Rene Adler has a bruised hip and Kevin Kuranyi has been rested.

Germany are in Group B along with Austria, Croatia and debutants Poland, who begin their campaign against the Germans in Klagenfurt on June 8.

Germany midfielder Torsten Frings insists his side are capable of winning Euro 2008 in June to be crowned European champions for the fourth time.

“We have what it is takes to be champions,” said Frings on the German Football League (DFL) website after Germany won the European Championships in 1972, 1980 and 1996.

“But we belong to a group of favorites which includes France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.”


Frings has missed most of the season after suffering three knee injuries and has only played eight matches for Werder Bremen this season.

His last appearance for the Germany team was in October 2007, but national coach Joachim Loew is set to name him on May 16 when he unveils his 23-man squad for Euro 2008.

“Torsten is a player who can raise his game over five, six or seven matches, he is the sort of player you want in a tournament,” said Loew.

Germany will play Poland, Croatia and co-hosts Austria in group B of Euro 2008.