Löw rates German chances at '50-50'

His Germany team may not have been at their best in their last two outings but coach Joachim Löw believes they have a "50-50" chance against UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-final opponents Portugal.

'State of emergency'
"We were unable to show our true selves and our ability in either of the past two games," said Löw, whose side recovered from defeat by Croatia to secure progress from Group B by defeating Austria 1-0 on Monday. "Against Croatia we played poorly and against Austria we had an enormous amount of pressure on us. There was nearly a state of emergency in the stadium in Vienna yesterday. And in the end it was important just to endure and somehow advance. And luckily for us it worked out."

'Two attacking teams'
Waiting now for the Germans on Thursday in Basel are Portugal and Löw believes in his side's chances despite the ease with which Cristiano Ronaldo and Co qualified as winners of Group A. "The Portuguese will play forward much more than Croatia and Austria did and that favours our style," he explained. "In addition, for the first time in this tournament, we will not be the favourites in this match. I expect a game with two attacking teams and I think our chances are 50-50."

Top quality
Löw's admiration for Luiz Felipe Scolari's team was evident as he continued: "Portugal do not just have Cristiano Ronaldo, who everyone is talking about. They have a number of other excellent players who are difficult to control, such as Deco in midfield. But we have already proved that we have top quality in our squad and I firmly believe that we can advance to the semi-finals." Meanwhile, the UEFA Control and Disciplinary body will look on Wednesday into the incident concerning Löw and his Austria counterpart Josef Hickersberger – who were both sent to the stands by referee Manuel Mejuto González – after receiving the required reports.