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Germany 2 Sweden 0
24/06/2006: Lukas Podolski bagged a brace as an impressive Germany booked their quarter-final place against 10-man Sweden with a 2-0 win.
The highly-rated youngster opened the scoring on four minutes as he showed a poacher's instinct to fire home the rebound after Miroslav Klose was denied by 'keeper Andreas Isaksson.
Podolski doubled his tally nine minutes later, capping a fine move with a deflected low drive as Klose again provided the ammunition.
Germany's domination of proceedings was heightened when Teddy Lucic was given his marching orders when he was harshly shown a second yellow card 10 minutes before the break for the faintest of tugs on Klose's shirt.
A bad day for Sweden, in which an inspired Andreas Isaksson kept the scoreline down, got worse when the usually reliable Henrik Larsson missed a chance to give the Scandinavian's a foothold in the game when he skied his penalty eight minutes after the break.
The victory sees an ever-improving host nation move through to the last eight, while Sweden fall at the first knock-out stage.
Pre match report
Jurgen Klinsmann is set to stick by his strike pairing of Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic could return for Sweden.
There have been reports claiming that Klose and Podolski have had a fall out but with five goals between in their opening three matches, Klinsmann is happy to pair the duo again.
The German boss though has a tough decision to make at the back, with Christoph Metzelder back fit following a knee injury. The Borussia Dortmund ace is tipped to return to the side despite a decent performance from Robert Huth in the win over Ecuador.
Meanwhile, Sweden coach Lars Lagerback has indicated that Zlatan Ibrahimovic should be fit to play some part in the Munich encounter.
The Juventus star missed the 2-2 draw with England due to a groin injury, but has taken part in training in the last couple of days.
FC Copenhagen's Marcus Allback is the man most likely to out of the team if Ibrahimovic starts, while Christian Wilhelmsson is expected to start on the right-hand side of midfield in place of Mattias Jonson.
Jurgen Klinsmann and Phillip Lahm believe that Germany's fitness levels will see them through extra time if needed.
With the World Cup now entering the knock-out stages there is the possibility of games going to extra time and penalties, a factor that will test the endurance levels of all the players.
However, Klinsmann believes the emphasis that he has put on fitness will pay dividends. He said: "I believe in our strengths and if we have to play 120 minutes, I am convinced we will be even fitter."
His view is mirrored by Lahm who said: "If it's for 90 minutes or even 120, I think we can keep our foot on the accelerator constantly.
"We are at the World Cup now and have got to be at top fitness level."
Sweden skipper Olof Mellberg hopes his side can continue where they left off against England when they take on Germany.
Sweden booked a last-16 meeting with the hosts after finishing second in Group B behind England. They showed great spirit against Sven Goran Eriksson's side, twice fighting back from a goal down to secure a point. They could have claimed maximum points had it not been for the woodwork and a great reaction save by Spurs keeper Paul Robinson.
And Aston Villa defender Mellberg, who says that confidence is high in the Swedish camp, hopes that Lars Lagerback's side can keep that momentum going into their clash with the World Cup hosts.
He said: "Hopefully we can bring the second-half performance from England into the game and then we will have a good chance."
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