In a classic European encounter it’s Germany who progress into the semi-finals after seeing off Portugal 3-2. See how that’s changed the outright betting here.

Joachim Low was proud of the way his German side performed in overcoming Portugal in their semi-final.

The coach, who due to a one-match suspension, was forced to watch the game from the stands, was delighted with the way his side dealt with the challenge.

“We had a lot of courage, had good combinations, moved well without the ball – all the things that we’ve done well in the past we did,” he said.

“Sitting behind the window in the stands was really difficult. It’s a lot more nerve-wracking because you’re so far from the pitch.

“I was a long way from the pitch and from on high you see things better but it is too far from the action.

Low made three changes to his midfield, but it paid off with the incoming Bastian Schweinsteiger scoring once and setting up the other two goals in the 3-2 victory.

Schweinsteiger dedicated the win to Low after making an impressive return from suspension.

“In my eyes we played with our best side,” he said.

“We put pressure on Portugal without letting up. We were playing for our coach Joachim Low, who had to sit in the stands.

“I set out to help the team as much as possible and it worked,” he said.

“We still have something left. We must do it again in the next match. I’m very happy to have won the game. We eliminated the best team of the tournament in my eyes.”

Low believes Germany have sent out a warning to their Euro 2008 rivals after last night’s win.

“Against Austria and Croatia, we did not play well,” said Low. “That is why tonight we tried to send a signal. We saw we had to make some changes.We wanted to close down the space in Portugal’s midfield. We succeeded in doing that.”

In Low’s enforced absence assistant coach Hansi Flick took charge on the touchline.

“He did a great job,” added Low. There were some things during the match he did absolutely right, like putting Michael Ballack a bit further back when there was a phase where they put us under some pressure.”

Schweinsteiger said he was pleased to make up for his group stage sending off by inspiring Germany in Basel.

Germany skipper Ballack felt they deserved the win, adding: “We started very well.

“We changed the system a bit with five in midfield and one striker less, we were very compact.

“Especially in the first half I thought we played fantastically against a very strong Portugal team until now. I think we deserved it.”

In a classic European encounter it’s Germany who progress into the semi-finals after seeing off Portugal 3-2. See how that’s changed the outright betting here.