Much has been written on these pages about the superiority, speed and stamina of Michael Ballack and his unfailing knack of outrunning all his team mates and usually every other bloke on the pitch. But one man does not make a team, and his centre-mid partner in crime Torsten Frings deserves a mention here too. Between them they have provided a solid foundation from which the front line can push on, safe in the knowledge that should they lose the ball, the Frings/Ballack back up will secure it again. The Castrol Index shows that the German team has, in fact, spent 56% of their time on the ball in midfield, the most of any team so far. Frings has made the most passes of any German player (187), proving himself as the hub of all the team’s moves, and he’s won 11 of his tackles – the second highest in the tournament. A look at his heat map in the game against Austria last time out confirms that he is an out and out centre midfielder, no question. Whether he’ll be able to deal with the pacy Portuguese tonight is another matter though.

*UPDATE* Having checked with my colleagues on our German sister site, it seems that Frings is a fitness doubt. He has a fractured rib but is still keen to play, and coach Oliver Bierhoff is going to wait until the last minute until he makes his decision as to whether to play him or not.

Should Portugal manage to weave their way past Frings and Ballack and elude the back four, they have another obstacle to overcome before finding the back of the net. Jens Lehmann has stopped 85% of the shots he has faced, and despite a blooper against Croatia has been rock solid as the last line. At 38, this is his last big tournament, so he might be pulling out all the stops (pun *definitely* intended) to go out with a bang. In the opposite goal, Ricardo has only prevented two thirds of the shots on his goal from crossing the line, so the Germans must be confident of getting at least one.

Tom thinks this might end level, forcing extra time and the dreaded penalties.

Jack suggests that the mighty Germans will crush flimsy Portugal 2-0.

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