TENERO, Switzerland - The Germans have gone from the pre-tournament favourites to underdogs in the European Championship quarter-finals against Portugal, and the reversal of roles is fine with them.
Bookmakers installed Germany as the favourite before the tournament and the three-time champions seemed to justify the expectations when they beat Poland 2-0 in their opener. But then came the 2-1 loss to Croatia and the laboured 1-0 win over Austria, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament.
Add in the injuries and poor form of some chief players and it becomes clear why the entertaining Portugal team and star winger Cristiano Ronaldo are given better chances in Thursday's game in Basel.
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