Scolari leaves frustrated

Scolari, who now leaves to take over Chelsea, saw his side exit Euro 2008 in the quarter-finals.

Scolari, who ended five and a half years as coach during which he also steered Portugal to the last four of the 2006 World Cup, said Germany captain Michael Ballack pushed Chelsea team-mate Paulo Ferreira when he went up to head the third goal after 61 minutes.

He said: "We made mistakes for the goals, though I can argue that on the third goal there was a foul.

"I don't want to say Germany were favoured but all replays showed what Ballack did.

"But we can't expect the referee to see everything, we can't use that as an excuse."

He added: "We lost but we played the match in a way that pleased us. I leave with a clear conscience, I always did my best and today was no exception. I did the best I could, hoping the players would do the same. And they did."

German coach Joachim Loew, not allowed on the touchline after being sent to the stands in Monday's 1-0 win over Austria in their final group game, watched from a box in the stadium.

"It's a lot more nerve-wracking, you're so far from the pitch. You see some things a bit better but the distance from the pitch gets on your nerves," he said.

"After the Austria match we saw we had to make some changes. We wanted to close down the space in Portugal's midfield. We succeeded in doing that."

Assistant coach Hansi Flick took charge on the touchline and Loew was impressed.

"He did a great job. There were some things during the match he did absolutely right, like putting Michael Ballack a bit further back when there was a phase where they put us under some pressure," he added.

Bastian Schweinsteiger said he was pleased to make up for his group stage sending off.

The midfielder scored the first goal and set up two more on his return to the team having been dismissed for violent conduct in the 2-1 defeat by Croatia in Germany's second group game.

"I made a mistake, I knew it. I set out to help the team today as much as possible and it worked," he said.

"We still have something left. We must do it again in the next match. I'm very happy to have won the game. We eliminated the best team of the tournament in my eyes."

Before the match, the 23-year-old Schweinsteiger, had briefly spoken with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"She told me I shouldn't do the same foolish things any more and should instead play the best I can," he said.

"I think when the Chancellor tells you to do something you have to listen."

In the semi-final in Basel on Wednesday, Germany will meet the winners of Friday's match between Croatia and Turkey.