Germany booked a quarter-final berth against Portugal as they finished runners-up in Group B of Euro 2008 following a 1-0 victory over Austria.
Five minutes in, Germany should have gone in front but Mario Gomez failed to get a touch on a wonderful ball by Miroslav Klose, but in the 19th minute, Austria squandered a chancec of their own as Erwin Hoffer made a bad touch on a good ball from Martin Harnik.
Hoffer had another chance at the start of the second half on an odd-man break, but again the touch is what let him down, and Germany were able to clear the threat.
Those misses would prove costly in the 49th minute when Germany captain Michael Ballack hit a blistering free kick from 28 yards that beat Austria goalkeeper Jürgen Macho to the top right corner, the first goal on a direct free kick in Euro 2008.
Austria made some good forays forward in the last stages of the game, but lacked the quality to beat the German defense, and Die Mannschaft moved on to face Portugal in the quarter-finals, knocking out Austria and Poland.
