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The German colts were taken apart by the Portuguese machine over the course of 90 minutes in the semi-final of the Under-21 European Championships. Germany went down to 10 men in the 75th minute but by then all the damage had been done.
The Portuguese team under the guidance of coach Rui Jorge started the of the day by hitting the back of the net in the 25th minute and scoring their last one in the 71st, just minutes before substitute Leonardo Bittencourt was sent off.
AS Monaco’s Bernardo Silva was unplayable on the night, he opened the scoring in the 25th minute as he lost his marker and put the ball past Barcelona keeper Marc Andre ter Stegen.
Just 8 minutes later, Ricardo Pereira made the German’s task more difficult by scoring Portugal’s second. He found himself unmarked in the box as he received the ball and took full advantage as the German goal was breached again.
As the half progressed, Portugal looked increasingly likely of being the side that would be the first to register their place in the finals of the competition. They cemented their position in injury time before half-time as Ivan Cavaleiro Scored his third goal of the competition.
If the Germans had a plan for the second half, it was all shot to hell when Portugal started the second half with blistering pace, scoring their fourth just seconds after the match had restarted. This time, Joao Mario the goalscorer.
Ricardo Horta scored the final goal of the night as Portugal capped off the dismantling of a hapless German team of whom much was expected. It resulted in the worst defeat for Germany in the competition ever.
The likes of Kevin Volland and Emre Can tried to spark some life into the German team but barely registered an effort as William Carvalho and co. dominated the midfield all game.
Things got worse for Germany with the sending off of Bittencourt in the 75th minute.
Portugal could be seen as favourites to win the competition as the prepare to take on either Sweden or Denmark in the final.
