Germany needed intervention from captain Michael Ballack to book a place in the EURO quarter-finals for the first time since 1996. The Chelsea midfielder scored an awesome goal in the second-half to help Germany edge past a brave Austrian side with a 1-0 win. Germany's place in the second round looked in doubt after their defeat to Croatia, but the three-time EURO champions managed to see things through. Meanwhile, Croatia impressed by fielding a reserve side that still managed to beat Poland 1-0. The victory made them the only team so far to have a 100% record at EURO 2008. It also brushed away any doubts that the Croats will make it easy for Poland as to try and jeopardize Germany's campaign. Man of the Day: Ivan Klasnic It takes an extraordinary man to get through the hardships of surgery to represent his country on the top level, which is what Croatia striker Ivan Klasnic did. The Werder Bremen player needed two kidney transplants to save his life last year and on Monday when he featured in the game against Poland. Klasnic made his coach proud by scoring the winning goal that gave Croatia their third win and capped an emotional night. "This is the beginning of my second footballing life and I was proud to be on the pitch today," said an emotional Klasnic. "I am happy to be just playing football again and I thank God we won today and finished top of our group," he said. Coach Slaven Bilic also praised the 28-year-old for his courage and persistence.
Klasnic recovered from two surgeries to score against Poland "We all prayed for him after learning of his illness and he showed such remarkable courage because he was comforting us whereas it should have been the other way round," he said. "To return to a major tournament like he did today is a fairytale and he deserved it." Goal of the Day: Michael Ballack's winner for Germany It was weird to find the Germans helpless against their Austrian neighbors for the entire first-half of the game. The frustration got to Germany captain Ballack who decided to try one of his trademark long range free-kicks just after the interval. Ballack looked determined to score and so he took a few steps back and slammed an unstoppable drive in the top left corner of Austria's goal, leaving keeper Jurgen Macho. Play of the Day: Referee sends off coaches You don't usually see a coach being sent off, but when two coaches are sent off at the same time in such a big tournament, that would go down in history. Spanish referee Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez sent off Germany coach Joachim Low and Austrian coach Josef Hickersberger who were involved in a sideline squabble with the fourth official just before half-time. Low and Hickersberger both shook hands with each other before climbing the stairs. The Germany went to sit close to German chancellor Angela Merkel, who offered him a sympathetic hand shake.
