Following Holland's shock defeat to Denmark, Germany and Portugal had a fantastic opportunity to take the initiative in Group B when they came up against each other in Lviv.
Despite failing to build on the excitement of the opening three matches, Joachim Low's side managed to bag themselves an important 1-0 victory.
Sports Mole takes a look the 'Group of Death' clash at the Arena Lviv.
Germany Statistics:
Shots 12
On target 6
Possession 50%
Corners 2
Fouls 15
Portugal Statistics:
Shots 11
On target 7
Possession 50%
Corners 11
Fouls 17
Was the result fair?
You can't argue with Germany picking up the three points in Lviv. They always looked the more threatening in attack and only had to deal with rare flashes of menace from the Portuguese.
Germany's performance
Joachim Low's men had plenty of the ball going forward and showed lots of attacking intent. They may not have been as lethal as many were expecting, but they have goals in them, that's for sure. That said, there were also some stellar performances in defence, particularly Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels.
Portugal's performance
Quite simply, the Portuguese were very poor indeed. Cristiano Ronaldo was never really in the match, while Nani gave little out on the flanks. They're going to need to be a lot better than this if they are to get out of the 'Group of Death'.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Lukas Podolski: Arsenal's latest signing was a pest out wide for the Portuguese and had a hand in almost all of his team's attacks. He bamboozled the opposition defence a few times by drifting inside and also showed the kind of tireless running that we've come to expect from the German national side.
Referee performance
With a reputation as an overly strict official, Frenchman Stephane Lannoy confirmed this on Saturday night with a whistle-happy performance. Both sets of players were guilty of some depressingly-inevitable displays of amateur dramatics and Lannoy fell for it more often than not.
Biggest gaffe of the game
Midway through the first half Lukas Podolski had a glorious chance to give his side the lead when he was teed up from 10 yards. However, he ballooned his effort into the night sky with a lazy swing of his left boot.
What next?
Germany: You can only see them going from strength to strength now. They've got the all-important opening win, but will probably look to be more clinical in their next game. Their opponents? Holland.
Portugal: After such a negative display, Portugal really need to buck up their ideas. Cristiano Ronaldo was nowhere near his best and Nani was ineffective out wide. They need their main men to put in some big performances and fast.
Jack Prescott
