Portugal and Germany open Euro quarters

(CNN) -- Pre-tournament favorites Germany and Portugal serve up a heavyweight clash to kick off quarterfinal action at the European Championships in Basle on Thursday night.

Portugal comfortably won Group A and could afford to rest Cristiano Ronaldo and most of their first choice lineup for their academic 2-0 loss to Switzerland, while Germany had to battle to beat neighbors Austria 1-0 on Monday to achieve second place in Group B.

Germany coach Joachim Loew was expelled to the stands during the victory for arguing with officials and again will have no direct influence on proceedings after receiving a one-game touchline ban from UEFA.

Chelsea's Michael Ballack scored Germany's winning goal against Austria with a thunderbolt free kick and Portugal's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, soon to become his club manager, has warned his men to pay "special attention" to the attacking midfielder.

"Ballack is an important player, a great player," Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning coach told the Associated Press.

"He has a lot of technical qualities and is one of the great players in the tournament. Maybe he has hit peak form over the last two years.

"Ballack is excellent, one of the athletes who has been a highlight of the tournament so far along with four or five others.

"He deserves special attention."

Germany for their part have not surprisingly singled out Manchester United's Ronaldo as the Portuguese dangerman.

"We have a special plan to stop him, but I won't tell you," team general manager Oliver Bierhoff told the Press Association.

"He is the best player in the world, you can't stop him for 90 minutes. And he is not alone. We have to stay solid as a group, confronting them one-on-one won't be enough."

Germany's goalscoring threat is likely to come from in-form Lukas Podolski who has already netted three times, but his attacking counterparts Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez have not impressed to date.

The two teams last met in the third place playoff at the 2006 World Cup finals which Germany won 3-1.

Portugal reached the final of Euro 2004, losing to Greece, while Germany were losing finalists in the 2002 World Cup to Brazil.

A major talking point ahead of the match has been the state of the newly laid pitch at St. Jakob Park.

The original surface was ruined by a torrential downpour during Turkey's 2-1 group win over Switzerland.

Portugal striker Nuno Gomes voiced his concerns after a team practice, but Scolari is confident it will be in "good condition."

The winners of Thursday's clash will face either Croatia or Turkey who play in Vienna on Friday.

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