Take that: Gomez powers his header home

But Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 60 goals in all competitions last season for Real Madrid, rarely got enough service to scare the German back four.

And at the other end Portugal, who had drawn three of their five previous games 0-0, stifled the Germans, who showed little of the flair that saw them win all 10 qualifiers.

But just as a drab first half was about to end, so the game burst into life. A corner fell to Pepe and the defender’s side-foot crashed against the bar and bounced down on the line.

Unlike at the World Cup in South Africa when Frank Lampard was so cruelly denied against the Germans, the officials this time got it right. Not of all of the ball was over the line yet it was a serious let off for Germany.

Boss Joachim Low was just about to summon Miroslav Klose from the bench when Gomez timed his run to perfection to power his header home.

‘I am very happy that the coach put his trust in me,’ said Gomez. ‘This way I was able to repay some of that.’

Low added: ‘We knew a defeat would have caused big problems for us after what happened to the Netherlands.’

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