Daily Telegraph

Austria (0) 0 Germany (0) 1

Viennna, Jun 17: Phil Scolari would have first learned to appreciate Michael Ballack during the 2002 World Cup. Then, Ballack, fighting the disappointment of having the European Cup snatched from him by Zinedine Zidane, still managed to drag a much worse German side than this to a final against Scolari's Brazil which he missed through suspension.

As kick-off approached, the talk in Vienna was all of history repeating - of Austria recreating the 'Miracle of Cordoba' that had seen them overcome Germany in another World Cup three decades ago. This, the Austrians never remotely threatened to do. The hosts, as everyone imagined, were both eliminated before the European Championship became serious but neither were as dreadful as many feared.

And had Ballack not driven home a free-kick from 30 yards four minutes into the second half, nerves might have continued to eat away, perhaps fatally, at Germany. Their reward is to qualify from the group stages for the first time since they won the tournament in 1996 and a quarter-final with Portugal - a meeting with Scolari that Ballack might think has come six years too late.

Realistically, they should already have been eliminated. But with one stoppage-time penalty, Austria were given a commodity they had never dared take into Euro 2008 - hope.

The fear that they would stink out their own tournament gave rise to a petition demanding that Austria withdraw before a ball was kicked and a spoof television documentary, Das Wonder von Wien - the Miracle of Vienna.

Its plot, featuring contributions from the likes of Franz Beckenbauer, saw Austria overcome Germany in the semi-finals and lift the trophy by beating Holland 2-1. Last night was a chance for Josef Hickersberger to be remembered for something other than managing Austria to defeat against the Faroe Islands; an opportunity to fashion a real miracle in Vienna; a twin for the one in Cordoba 30 years ago.

It resembled the build-up to the England-Scotland encounter at Hampden Park nine years ago that decided who would go to Euro 2000. There were the same wild appeals to national pride; the same quiet desperation that years of domination could be overturned in the face of some overwhelming statistics. In this case, the ones that pointed out that in Austria's last four encounters with their neighbours, they had conceded 17 times.The pre-match exchanges, which had Hickersberger's Bremen-based striker, Martin Harnik, claiming the Germans would be "sh****g their pants", spilled over on to the pitch.

Lukas Podolski, in particular, came in for some rough treatment and midway through the first half he seemed to be struck in the face by Rene Aufhauser. Podolski, who always seemed the likeliest striker to force a breakthrough, was then given a mouthful from Emmanuel Pogatetz, living up to his Middlesbrough nickname of 'Mad Dog'.

Four minutes before the interval, the referee, Manuel Gonzalez, dismissed both managers for reasons that were not entirely clear but may have been connected with remarks made to the fourth official. Hickersberger and Joachim Low shook hands and made their way to the directors' box, where Low was consoled by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

There was a miracle in the Ernst-Happel and it was how Mario Gomez could contrive to miss an empty net from three yards, which was indicative of the lack of confidence that has gripped Germany since their defeat by Croatia. The game was barely four minutes old when Miroslav Klose squared the ball for Gomez to tap in. His shot ballooned up and Gyorgy Garics headed off the line.

When the Germans arrived at the tournament, the talk was of how relaxed and 'cool' they were. For 45 minutes the best adjective to describe this team was 'flustered'. Now, after the clear-the-air talks and the "raised voices" that followed their defeat in Klagenfurt, it needed someone to take a grip and Ballack's free-kick, with his manager in the stands, was an example of the art of captaincy.