Germany beats Austria 1-0, advances to quarterfinals

(BEIJING, June 17) -- Germany beat Austria 1-0 on June 15 at the Ernst-Happel Stadion in Vienna in a critical match that decided which of the two teams would move on to the quarterfinals.

German captain Michael Ballack, regarded the main threat by the Austrian side, proved his reputation with a vigorous free-kick 49 minutes into the match.

Though it was a narrow victory, Germany, who had 54 percent of the possession and had seven shots on goal out of 16 attempts, deserved it. Austria's nine shots were all off target.

Germany will take on Portugal in the first quarterfinal in Basel on Thursday.