Host nation Germany once again came good in a penalty shoot-out to defeat Argentina and reach the semi-finals on Friday. Keeper Jens Lehmann stopped two Argentine penalties, including the decisive one from Esteban Cambiasso, to see Jurgen Klinsmann's men reach the last four.

It was a performance full of the typical grit expected from Germany teams down the decades, and finally put paid to the jibes that Klinsmann's side had not beaten a top side so far in the tournament.

The Argentines - certainly more individually gifted than their German opponents - will go home though wondering how they did not come through this test unscathed.

The answer was part Lehmann, part captain Michael Ballack, who covered more ground than any other player on the pitch.

Lehmann, who was surprisingly rarely troubled, had already produced one high-profile spot-kick stop this season from an Argentine after putting club side Arsenal into the Champions League final when turning aside a Juan Roman Riquelme penalty.

DELIRIOUS

Riquelme had already left the Berlin Olympic Stadium pitch by the time the shoot-out arrived, but Lehmann was again to prove Klinsmann was right in opting for him - and not Oliver Kahn - as his first choice.

After a warm handshake from his understudy, Lehmann produced a first stop from Roberto Ayala's weak effort to give his side the advantage before reducing Cambiasso to tears after turning away his penalty to provoke delirous scenes.

"We have a strong belief in Jens Lehmann with penalties," said Klinsmann. "As a former striker, I don't want to face him and he proved that. He proved he has a sense of where the ball will go, and he almost saved the other two."

An unsightly melee broke out after the shoot-out, with Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff being harried by Argentina left-back Gabriel Heinze while others exchanged kicks and punches.

But it was an inappropriate end to a game which - though niggly - was rarely dirty.

TIGHT AND TENSE

In a scrappy, high-tempo first half, the teams cancelled each other out with only a Ballack header coming anywhere near finding a goal in a tight and tense opening period.

But the game opened out in the second half after Ayala had risen above marker Miroslav Klose to meet a Riquelme corner and head powerfully past Lehmann.

The Valencia defender should have been punished just fifteen minutes later for a blatant shirt pull which left Ballack prostrate in the box, but escaped sanction from Slovak referee Lubos Michel.

First-choice Argentina keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri was forced off with injury with little under twenty minutes left, but there was little replacement Leo Franco could do about Klose's equaliser ten minutes from time to force an extra thirty minutes.

With their South American opponents defending ever deeper, Ballack picked the ball up on the left - sub Tim Borowski intelligently glancing the ball on for Klose to react quicker than Juan Pablo Sorin and head low into the corner.

Man of the Match: Michael Ballack (Germany)