Euro 2008 Soccer Final: Spain 1, Germany 0 at the Half

The final match Euro 2008 Soccer Championship, Germany versus Spain, proved to be as exciting as anticipated.

German captain Michael Ballack and Spanish Star David Villa, both who had been marked as disabled, were able to start the game. German midfielder midfielder Torsten Frings was also back for m the disabled list.

Both coaches were confident coming into the match.

"Germany are very strong physically and are dangerous from set-pieces," said Spanish coach Luis Aragonés "They are strong on high balls and that's where we might suffer. But I'm sure Germany have some concerns about the football we play. With the ball on the ground we might create some problems for them."

Spanish forward Fernando Torres (up) flies over German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann after kicking the ball by him for Spain's first goal. (Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images)

"It's going to be a very intensive match," said German coach Joachim Löw. "Both Spain and Germany have good players and like to go forward so it's going to be very interesting.

"I expect to win, of course."

The game started out fairly evenly, with both teams playing patient soccer. After about 15 minutes, though, the Spanish team seemed to get a bit of an edge. The Germans were playing well, but couldn't seem to penetrate the Spanish defense quite as deeply of frequently as the Spanish.

At 13 minutes Spanish midfielder Andrés Iniesta to bounced a shot off German defender Christoph Metzelder German keeper Jens Lehmann mad an acrobatic midair switch of direction to swat the ball aside.

At 22 minutes, Spanish midfielder Sergio Ramos set up forward Fernando Torres for a header right in front of the German net. Lehmann was beat, but the ball hit the left post and bounced out safely to a German defender.

Half an hour in, there was skill no score.

Spanish defender Carlos Marchena (2nd L), Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas (3rd L) and Spanish defender Carles Puyol (2nd R) argue with German midfielder Michael Ballack (R) as Italian referee Roberto Rosetti (L) listens in during the Euro 2008 championships final football match. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images)

Then at 32 minutes in, Torres came down the right wing, pushed passed German defender Phillip Lahm to run down a lead pass. Torres got a foot on the ball an instant before the charging Lehmann could reach it, guiding the ball into the open net.

At 35 minutes German midfielder Michael Ballack got a serious cut over his eye from a head-to-head collision with a Spanish midfielder Marcos Senna. Ballack got a few stitches, and Bastian Schweinsteiger got a free kick, but couldn't convert.

Ballack was involved in a number of questionable tackles throughout the half—occasionally when he was nowhere near the ball. At 42 minutes Ballack was given a yellow card—not for tackling, but for arguing with the Spanish players and the referee.