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EURO 2008: GERMANY BEATEN

/noticias.info/ Michael Ballack completed 90 minutes today as Germany stumbled to a 2-1 defeat to Croatia.

The Chelsea midfielder was winning his 84th cap for his country, but it was not a day to remember for the German captain.

Before the game, both sides had a maximum three points after opening round victories against Poland and Austria respectively.

Germany fell behind after 23 minutes when Dario Srna stole in to finish from close range past Jens Lehmann, and it could have been worse when Portsmouth's Nico Kranjcar passed up two good opportunities.

After the break, Ballack lifted a shot just over the crossbar as he reacted to a punch from Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, before Ivica Olic doubled the Croatian lead.

A bad day at the office was confirmed on 74 minutes when Ballack was booked for a foul on Schalke's Ivan Rakitic.

Lukas Podolski pulled a goal backwith 12 minutes to go, but it was not enough as the Croatians held on for a repeat of their World Cup quarter-final victory in France a decade ago. notas_de_prensa_archivo