And that is that for today’s MBM. That went by in an absolute flash, such was the amount of incident and entertainment packed into the best match of the tournament so far. Germany were wobbling significantly after Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational opening goal, which came after a concerted 15-minute period of pressure for Joachim Löw’s men. But the German attacking plan eventually game to fruition and in spectacular style, with Robin Gosens on the left flank, in particular, simply too much for Portugal to handle, capping his dominant performance with a thumping header that made it 4-1. Group F will boil up to what promises to be a wonderfully dramatic conclusion next Wednesday.
Thank you as always for reading, emailing and tweeting - it was a pleasure! Bye for now.
So Germany will fight on. Poland have a must-win match of their own coming up against Spain in Group E, which kicks off in under 40 minutes. Rob Smyth will be guiding you through that one. Read all about it here:
In Group F, that leaves France with four points, Germany with three, Portugal with three, and Hungary with one. Wiiiiiide open. (The top three teams all have a goal difference of +1, while Hungary have a GD of -3.)
Germany face Hungary in Munich on Wednesday in their final group match. On that form, anything other than a German win would be a seismic shock - although having said that, Hungary may fancy their chances of causing Germany a few problems at the back. Portugal v France, also on Wednesday, is in Budapest - of course it is.
Here is Nick Ames’ match report from Munich after that thrilling six-goal affair:
“Germany have rarely been mentioned among this summer’s leading contenders but, in the best game of Euro 2020 so far, they produced a sensational response to their doubters. It was a triumph for Joachim Löw, whose reign has looked close to ending miserably, and included an individual performance that may not be bettered all tournament.”
As previously stated, it is remarkable how much penetration Germany achieved with their wing-backs overlapping and finding so much space on the flanks. Portugal were sitting ducks, it just looked so simple. And it does show how solid France are defensively, that they were able to shut down Germany’s attacking patterns so comprehensively last Tuesday night.
On ITV, they are purring over Ronaldo’s opener, which was indeed a stunner. He cleared the ball from a corner, then sprinted the length of the field as Bernardo Silva and Jota combined to put the ball on a plate for him a few seconds later. Had that been the only goal of the match, it would have been well worthy of winning it. As it was, there were five goals still to come ...
“How can a team look so bereft of cutting edge one day and razor sharp four days later?” asks Daniel Storey. “Never rule out the Germans. Oh, and more importantly, how are we going to make the post-match commentary revolve around Ronaldo?”
“I’ll admit that I had almost written Germany off after their game against France,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Now that I have seen what the successful version of the German attack looks like, it’s clear that it takes a brilliant defensive effort to keep them at bay. Conversely, it’s now clear that France’s performance against Germany was more impressive than I gave them credit for.”
“Both teams adopted a colander defensive system,” chips in Mary Waltz.
Cracking game, absolutely first-class. Congratulations to Germany, who are alive and kicking in this tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo and Toni Kroos - former teammates at Real Madrid - stop for a long chat after the final whistle is blown. They share a friendly joke. Both teams went for that, both teams knew that after France were held by Hungary earlier today, everything was up for grabs. Germany, of course, desperately needed a win after losing to France in their opening game, so they were always going to throw the kitchen sink at it. And that they did: the wing-backs Gosens and Kimmich, on the left and right respectively, were an enormous factor in how much pressure Germany were able to exert on Portugal’s defence. Gnabry and Havertz were excellent too. Well played indeed.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Germany’s Toni Kroos embrace after the match. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Pool/Reuters
90 min + 4: Portugal have one final go. Kroos loses the ball on halfway, and their opponents stream forward. A desperate - brilliant - diving tackle by Ginter denies Rafa Silva. Portugal win a corner ... but then it’s over!
90 min: Ronaldo, who has not been able to get involved much in the second half, tries a bit of skill to create something near the German penalty area, but he is closed down. This result means that Germany are still to taste defeat against a team including C-Ron. They also put four past them at the 2014 World Cup, in the group stage.
88 min: Big, big chance for 4-3 again! Portugal’s Pepe meets a good deep cross at the far post and directs it back across, flashing the ball right across the danger zone. No one can get on the end of it, though, and the worries are over for Germany, for now.
86 min: Now Joachim Löw brings off Gnabry. Waiting to come on, Leroy Sané gives his teammate a round of applause. They embrace as Gnabry goes off, and Gnabry then gets a hug from his manager. What a heartening day this has been for Germany - and it’s pleasing to see. They’ve played some lovely football.
83 min: Jota goes off - João Moutinho comes on for Portugal. Can he create something in the final few minutes for the European champions? Regardless of what happens in the next five minutes, Group F is wiiiiiide open now.
82 min: Into the final 10 minutes. You just sense we may have a little more drama to come. Two slightly dodgy defences and loads of attacking talent on display. Right on cue, Goretzka bears down on the Portuguese goal on the counterattack, and cracks a right-footed shot from a central position which flies just over, kissing the crossbar as it flashes by. There is another goal in this game, for sure!
78 min: Portugal win a corner. They play it short. Sanches, the substitute, thunders a fantastic shot from distance which crashes back off the frame of the goal. So nearly 4-3! What a goal that would have been, too.
74 min: Rafa Silva tries to make inroads for Portugal, sprinting down the German left. Rüdiger doesn’t stand on ceremony, though, bundling him into touch, taking the ball and quite a bit of the man at the same time. Silva goes flying, and gets up with a slightly bemused look back in the direction of the referee. But Anthony Taylor had clearly decided that was fierce but fair from the German defender.
72 min:Germany changes:Havertz comes off, Leon Goretzka comes on, and Gündoğan goes off for Niklas Süle. Germany’s attacking starters, to a man, have been excellent. There may be question marks over the defence but they have got the attacking side of the game spot on today.
70 min: A cooling break for the players. A cooling break for my keyboard. I’m going to need a glass of something cold after this! What a wonderful game of football. I’ll try and get some more emails up after the final whistle!
67 min: It was a cross flashed across the German six-yard box from a free-kick. Jota tries to flick it at the near post, but doesn’t appear to touch it. The ball bounces beyond the far post, where Ronaldo does well to keep the ball alive, tapping it back into the goalmouth, past Neuer. Jota does the rest - he has an open goal and volleys in the sixth of this tremendously entertaining match.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo keeps the ball in play ... Photograph: Matthias Hangst/Pool/AP
And Diogo Jota sticks the ball into the net. Photograph: Matthias Hangst/Pool/EPA
62 min: Marcel Halstenberg and Emre Can are now on the pitch for Germany. Gosens and Mats Hummels have gone off. Ronaldo is pictured looking suitably disgruntled.
Portugal’s goose is surely cooked. This time, it’s Gosens receiving a fine, deep curling cross from Kimmich, from the right wing. He rises to meet it with a simply beautiful header at the far post, generating oodles of power by cranking his neck back and forwards again, and slamming an accurate finish into the top corner. What a goal! What a performance. What a match. Germany are back, baby! Gosens, with perfect theatrical timing, is immediately hauled off by Löw and the crowd - quite rightly - give him a huge ovation. Portugal have been torn to pieces by Germany’s wing-backs. Löw has silenced the doubters in emphatic fashion, unless Portugal can pull off the comeback to end all comebacks.
Germany’s Robin Gosens celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Mats Hummels. Photograph: Matthias Hangst/Pool/Reuters
57 min: Another change for Portugal: Rafa Silva on, William Carvalho off. There’s then a mild shout for a penalty from Portugal but the referee, Taylor, isn’t having any of it.
53 min:Portugal win a free-kick on the left, about 35 yards out. C-Ron does his trademark free-kick preparation routine and smacks a very powerful effort which flies over the crossbar and into the stands. That didn’t miss by much.
Lovely interplay, lovely goal by Germany, but that’s some more poor defending by Portugal. After a sequence of smart short passes involving Havertz, Müller lays a good diagonal ball off to Gosens from a central position on the edge of the penalty area. Gosens again has absolutely tonnes of space on the German left to basically do what he likes. He sensibly chooses to fire one of those powerful, low crosses across the six-yard box and Havertz is on hand to bundle the ball over the line. Gnabry is lurking behind Havertz, second in the queue to score that goal. Germany now set fair for the victory - but Portugal aren’t going to lie down.
Kai Havertz waits for the ball before slotting it home for Germany’s third goal. Photograph: Matthias Hangst/Pool/Reuters
Havertz celebrates after scoring. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Pool/Reuters
47 min: Germany are briefly penned in the left-hand corner of the pitch by Portugal. Gnabry finds himself with defensive duties to do and tries to hammer the ball clear. It’s intercepted, and Ronaldo combines with the substitute Sanches, before curling a dangerous cross to the far post, but the ball bounces out to safety, from a German point of view. On ITV, Sam Matterface has pointed out that it’s still 29C in Munich - so presumably the players are going to struggle to maintain that breakneck speed of the first half?
“I know I’m not an international manager, but it’s been obvious from the first minute that Gosens and Kimmich have been getting too much space along the flanks,” writes Graeme Thorn on email. “It’s unsurprising that both German goals have come from the ball coming in from one of them.”
The notable thing is that a lack of attacking threat from the wide players was a big criticism of Germany’s defeat by France. They’ve certainly sorted that out.
So far, this is among the best games in the tournament – two big hitters going blow for blow. Germany have attacked in waves and deserve massive credit for responding to such a big disappointment when Ronaldo scored. It’s been compelling to watch, played to a loud and vibrant crowd, and I wouldn’t fancy predicting what happens next ...
Phew. It’s safe to say this match is delivering on its lofty billing ... a wonderful half of attacking football. Gosens has been rampaging up and down that left wing for Germany. Similarly, Bernardo Silva has looked a threat on the Portuguese right every time he’s been in possession, on that same flank, and created Portugal’s opening goal, via Jota, for Cristiano Ronaldo. Kimmich has also had plenty of space on the German right wing. Now two own-goals have seen Germany bounce back to lead at the break but there is surely plenty of drama to come in this one. What a game!
45 min + 2: Now it’s time for a lightning German counter: Gnabry storms into the penalty area and smashes a left-footed shot which is flying into the far corner! But Rui Patrício beats it out, and does well to get enough purchase on the ball to ensure that there is no danger of a Germany goal on the follow-up.
45 min: As the clock ticks into stoppage time, Portugal win a free-kick in an advanced position on the right. Fernandes and Silva, who both look hot and knackered, stand over it. It’s bent into the penalty area but a German head clears it. Three minutes of stoppage time will be added.
42 min: Portugal come again in attack: Ronaldo threads a brilliant pass through the lines for Jota, but the Liverpool forward is just offside. Another wave of Portuguese attacking ends with a crunching tackle by Rüdiger, who celebrates it like he’s scored a goal. This is a belting game.
Phenomenal! This is being checked for offside, but the scoreboard says 1-2 ... and the goal stands! It was another ball fired across the six-yard box, this time from the right, after Müller had two goes at crossing from the other side of the penalty area. Havertz tries to get on the end of the second Müller cross, but the ball flicks off the forward and beyond the other side of the goal. It is immediately fired back in by Kimmich, Guerreiro sticks a leg out this time, and the ball flies into the roof of the net from all of two yards out!
Raphael Guerreiro of Portugal (centre) scores an own goal for Germany’s second goal. Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Germany are level! Gosens finds a ton of space on the left again, meeting a deep cross on the volley and sending the ball fizzing across the six-yard box. Havertz looks likely to score, but Dias sticks a leg out, and the ball deflects low into the far corner off the Portuguese defender. Löw’s team have been excellent in attack and they deserve to be on the board. The ball was travelling so fast, in fact, it looks like Havertz may have struggled to touch it, so Dias could simply have left it. But he wasn’t to know that - his valiant attempt to save his team ends with the equaliser.
Germany’s Kai Havertz and teammates celebrate after Portugal’s Ruben Dias scores an own goal and equaliser for Germany. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Pool/Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo (C) of Portugal reacts as German players celebrate their 1-1 equalizer. Photograph: Philipp Guelland/Pool/EPA
30 min:Germany do come again: Müller flicks a ball on to Gnabry just outside the area, who turns smartly away from Pepe and shapes to shoot. Dias is the last line of defence and he dives in to make a challenge, a fierce 50-50 between the players inside the penalty area. Pepe then has a word with the referee Anthony Taylor, wanting a yellow card for Gnabry for the challenge on Dias. Taylor, quite rightly, tells him to mind his own business.
28 min: Now Joshua Kimmich finds space on the German right as they try to get back on terms. He fires a low cross into the six-yard box but it’s too close to Rui Patrício, who flops on the ball and gathers it. Germany must try again.
27 min: William Carvalho strides purposefully forward, towards the heart of the German defence, with the ball at his feet. Havertz fouls him with a push in the back, then remonstrates with the referee after he is penalised. Raphaël Guerreiro curls an excellent ball to the far post from the resulting set-piece. Jota meets it with his head, but his effort flies over the goal.
25 min: Should that early German effort, by Gosens, have counted? Maybe so.
@LukeMcLaughlin I don’t think Gnabry was active in that attack. Trying to play the ball isn’t enough to make yourself active: you have to impact an opponent in doing so. I don’t think his actions made any difference to the defence. So the goal should have stood.
