Poland: Germany goal-scorer Mario Gomez said his battle with veteran Miroslav Klose for the single striker spot at Euro 2012 helped inspire him to score the winner against Portugal.
The Bayern Munich star’s second-half header from a Sami Khedira cross against Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal gave the Germans a winning start to their Group B campaign in Lviv, Ukraine, on Saturday.
Gomez scored with Lazio’s Klose — who was celebrating his 34th birthday — waiting to come on.
The header earned him a reprieve before making way with ten minutes left for Klose, who is five goals short of becoming Germany’s top scorer.
“I am pleased the coach showed some faith in me,” said 26-year-old Gomez.
“It was clear before the match that Miro would come on at some point.”
The win — which attracted an astonishing audience of 22.33 million back in Germany — was built on the foundation of some solid defending as Portugal’s attack, boasting Real Madrid star Ronaldo and Manchester United’s Nani, was largely subdued.
Ronaldo was heavily marked by right-back Jerome Boateng, but the 23-year-old said he could not have done it without plenty of support from his teammates.
It was redemption for the Bayern Munich defender who fell out with coach Joachim Loew last week after hitting the headlines for a late-night tryst with a German glamour model in a Berlin hotel hours before the team left for Poland.
“Everyone knows the class Ronaldo has,” Boateng said.
“You can’t shut him out of a game completely, but we managed to wangle it as a team.
“The whole team is behind me after recent events.
“That inspired me, the team knows the truth.
“I am pleased for the team that we won.”
Like playing in a sauna
Left-back and captain Philipp Lahm said conditions had been difficult in Lviv as a heavy downpour shortly before kick-off meant the match was played in nearly 80 per cent humidity.
“The most important thing is that we won, but it was hard work,” said Lahm.
“It was like playing in a sauna.”
Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Ozil was voted man-of-the-match for his efforts before coming off late on having worked tirelessly in defence and attack.
His Real teammate Sami Khedira admitted victory had been hard-earned for Loew’s team, who next face old rivals the Netherlands in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.
“That was a really important game for us, it was very demanding and we had to run a lot,” said Khedira.
“At the end, we were all out on our feet.
“The Portuguese are in good condition, it was no surprise that we had to make a few changes towards the end.
“The Dutch have their backs against the wall now (they lost 1-0 to Denmark also on Saturday), the next game will be tough.”
The Bayern Munich star’s second-half header from a Sami Khedira cross against Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal gave the Germans a winning start to their Group B campaign in Lviv, Ukraine, on Saturday.
Gomez scored with Lazio’s Klose — who was celebrating his 34th birthday — waiting to come on.
The header earned him a reprieve before making way with ten minutes left for Klose, who is five goals short of becoming Germany’s top scorer.
“I am pleased the coach showed some faith in me,” said 26-year-old Gomez.
“It was clear before the match that Miro would come on at some point.”
The win — which attracted an astonishing audience of 22.33 million back in Germany — was built on the foundation of some solid defending as Portugal’s attack, boasting Real Madrid star Ronaldo and Manchester United’s Nani, was largely subdued.
Ronaldo was heavily marked by right-back Jerome Boateng, but the 23-year-old said he could not have done it without plenty of support from his teammates.
It was redemption for the Bayern Munich defender who fell out with coach Joachim Loew last week after hitting the headlines for a late-night tryst with a German glamour model in a Berlin hotel hours before the team left for Poland.
“Everyone knows the class Ronaldo has,” Boateng said.
“You can’t shut him out of a game completely, but we managed to wangle it as a team.
“The whole team is behind me after recent events.
“That inspired me, the team knows the truth.
“I am pleased for the team that we won.”
Like playing in a sauna
Left-back and captain Philipp Lahm said conditions had been difficult in Lviv as a heavy downpour shortly before kick-off meant the match was played in nearly 80 per cent humidity.
“The most important thing is that we won, but it was hard work,” said Lahm.
“It was like playing in a sauna.”
Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Ozil was voted man-of-the-match for his efforts before coming off late on having worked tirelessly in defence and attack.
His Real teammate Sami Khedira admitted victory had been hard-earned for Loew’s team, who next face old rivals the Netherlands in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.
“That was a really important game for us, it was very demanding and we had to run a lot,” said Khedira.
“At the end, we were all out on our feet.
“The Portuguese are in good condition, it was no surprise that we had to make a few changes towards the end.
“The Dutch have their backs against the wall now (they lost 1-0 to Denmark also on Saturday), the next game will be tough.”
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