Full time: Germany4-0 Portugal The referee blows the final whistle! Ending the match in an unexpected result - the Germans claiming a shock 4-0 victory over Portugal. 90+1 Keeper Neuer is called into action as he is forced to save Ronaldo's powerful long-range free kick! 90' The referee adds two minutes of stoppage time 88' Podolski unpleased with the referee after the latter brushed aside the Arsenal man's shout for free kick. 86' The Germans are seemingly saving energy for further games, leaving their opponents move the ball around without posing real threat. 82' The final substitution of the game sees Mueller go off amid a standing ovation from the fans as Podolski comes on. 78' Mueller completed his own hat-trick when he prodded home Patricio's spilled ball after the keeper had initially failed to collect Schurrle's cross from the right handside of the area. 78' GOOOOOALLLLL!!!! Germany hit their fourth of the evening! Thomas Mueller!! 75' Portugal shout for penalty after Eder was fouled by Howedes inside the area, only for the referee to wave play on! Ronaldo runs towards the referee totally frustrated with the official's decision. 72' Another player forced off! Hummels leaves the pitch as he is substituted by Mostafi. 69' Gotze receives a horizontal pass from Schurrle inside the area but the clear-on-goal forward sees his strike hit a defender and go out for corner. The Germans wished for much better than that! 68' Nani runs onto the area in what could be a promising attack, but it's eventually scuffed out. 65' The last change for Portugal, as Andre Almeida comes in for the injured Contrao. 64' Contrao grabs his groin, it seems the Portuguese full-back has picked up an injury. ## 62' The first substitution for Germany, Ozil makes way for Schurrle. 60' The Portugal star hits the wall. 60' Free kick for Portugal, taken by Ronaldo who earlier won the foul. 59' Portugal are now retaining the ball in an attempt to restore some of their lost confidence. 55' Germany are in full control now, laying siege to Portugal's area... 50' TV replays revealed that Ozil should have been flagged for offside! 50' WHAT A CHANCE!! Ozil latched onto a threaded through pass to go clear on goal before keeper Patricio blocked the Arsenal man's effort as Muller headed wide over on the rebound. 47' Germany are moving the ball around, with Portugal looking to have thrown in the towel. 46' The second change for Portugal as Costa comes in for Veloso. The second half kicks off. 45+3 The referee blows the whistle, it's the end of the first half...even though it seems unlikely the Portuguese would stage a comeback, just let us see what happens after the break. 45+2 Mueller bags his second of the night after pressuring Alves to capitalize on the latter's poor clearance and firehome from close range! ## 45+2 GOOOOOAALLLLL!!! Germany are now three!!! 45' Germany are now dictating play following Pepe's red card, with the Portuguese looking completely down and out. 40' Germany's ensuing free kick hits the wall..out for corner. 37' Pepe was sent off following a flailing arm against Muller's face, even though the challenge isn't that harsh to see the Real Madrid center-back dismissed. ## 37' PEPE SEES RED!! 36' Eder sees a header go just wide of the cross bar following a corner kick. 35' A promising counter for Portugal, as Nani races down the right towards goal before his pass to Ronaldo was intercepted by the well-performing Lahm. 32' Hummels rises above his marker to power a header past the keeper following Kroos' corner kick! the Germans have totally outclassed the Portuguese in the game! ## 32' GOOOOOOOOAAALLLL!!! Germany two! 31' Ozil breaks into the area on the right hand side before turning and passing back to Gotze who strikes wide! 30' Ronaldo, who has yet to deliver for his side, looks frustrated after losing the ball! 28' Yes it's true, Almeida can no longer continue on the pitch and makes way for Eder for Portugal's first substitution. 27' Almeida seems to have sustained an injury following a tackle from Hummels against the striker. 25' Nani in a cameo appearance strikes from outside the area but his effort goes narrowly wide. 22' Lahm superbly robbed his opponent of the ball in front of the former's own box before the German was fouled by Moutinho, but the referee didn't caution the Portugal midfielder. 17' Khedira has been key in almost all the Germans' attacks, the Real Madrid midfielder - who has been out for nearly half of the season through injury - is peforming greatly so far!! 17' The tempo has lowered after the goal, with the Germans relatively dominating possession. 12' Mueller smashes home from the spot, which was initially awarded after Gotze was brought down by Pereira!! What a start!! ## 12' GOOOOOOALLLLL!!! Germany take the lead through Muller!!! 10' THE REFEREE POINTS TO THE SPOT!! PENALTY FOR GERMANY. 8' Khedira's chance followed another dangerous Ronaldo one-on-one strike but the Portugal captain was thwarted by keeper Neuer. 8' Sami Khedira capitalizes on Patricio's ill-fated pass to strike from distance towards an empty net but his effort misses the target by inches! 6' Ronaldo hits an ambitious drive from distance but his strike flows wide. 5' Ronaldo surges on the break before feeding Almeida who strikes straight into the keeper's hands, that was the first time the Portuguese appear in the opponents' final third. 4' Gotze receives the ball on the left handside of the area, tries to evade to challengers but eventually fails. 2' Gotze attempts a header but his effort is cleared away, out for throw in. The first half gets underway. 18:56 The Portuguese national anthem is now on. 18:55 Both teams have entered the pitch now as the German national anthem is currently playing. 18:55 These two sides met in the group stages of Euro 2012, and the Germans prevailed 1-0 in a very tight encounter. 18:53 Ronaldo greets his Real Madrid teammates in the German side inside the tunnel. 18:50 Both teams are lining up now outside the dressing rooms as they prepare to head towards the pitch. 18:45 However, Low is aware of the Portuguese threat, as the Associated Press article notes that he referenced their impressive world ranking in the buildup to the game. "They are ranked just behind us at No4 [Germany are No2], and they are not just about Ronaldo," he said. "Portugal are an extremely dangerous team." 18:40 Germany breezed through qualifying, winning nine of their 10 games and scoring 36 goals in an unbeaten campaign. 18:35 The Germans have a stunning record in the group stages of the World Cup. According to the Associated Press (h/t The Guardian), they have only ever lost one tournament opener, going down 2-1 to Algeria in 1982. 18:30 Made up of Germany, Portugal, Ghana and the USA, Group G is arguably the most challenging of the entire tournament. 18:25 Meanwhile, Portugal will rely heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo if they are to go deep into the competition in Brazil. 18:15 Joachim Low's side are one of the most hotly tipped of the tournament and will be looking to get off to a strong strong start at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil. Lineups: Germany: Manuel Neuer, Benedikt Howedes, Mats Hummels, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller, Philipp Lahm (c), Per Mertesacker, Toni Kroos, Mario Gotze, Jerome Boateng Portugal: Rui Patricio, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Miguel Veloso, Fabio Coentrao, Cristiano Ronaldo (c),Joao Moutinho, Hugo Almeida, Raul Meireles, Nani, Joao Pereira 17:46 Manuel Neuer, Germany's number one goalkeeper for four years, will start after recovering from a shoulder injury sustained last month, while Phillip Lahm has overcome an ankle injury and will feature in a holding midfield role rather than his traditional right back slot. 17:20 Portugal's talismanic forward raised a collective sigh of relief in his home country earlier this week when he returned to the side after a troublesome knee injury to shine in a 5-1 friendly victory over Ireland. 16:55 A standout first round game, the Group G clash at Salvador's Forte Nova arena will see Germany's attractive mix of expert defence and sweeping attacks, led by the likes of Mesut Ozil and Thomas Mueller, come up against a Portugal side containing goal machine Cristiano Ronaldo. 16:20 Germany's World Cup campaign begins with a tough encounter against Portugal on Monday, though they arrive in Brazil with confidence having won their last three encounters, not to mention every opening match of the tournament since 1990. Venue: Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova (Salvador, Bahia) Officials: Referee: M. Mazic (Serbia) Assistants: M. Ristic (Serbia), D. Djurdjevic (Serbia) Fourth official: N. Alioum (Cameroon) For the match preview, click here (For more sports news and updates,followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/103837.aspx
