The Germans laughed in the face of the Group of Death.
Their opening match of the European Championship against a staunch Portugal team was locked in a scoreless draw until Mario Gomez found room to rise and bury a header in the 72nd minute. Ha.
Their showdown against a dangerous Netherlands team was decided in the first half when surgical midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger twice sent lancing balls through the Dutch defense to set up Gomez goals. Ha.
Their can’t-lose capper against upstart Denmark was bound for an acceptable draw when backup Lars Bender gave them a 2-1 win anyway with an 80th-minute score. Ha.
Drawn into the toughest section of the Euro 2012 draw, Germany motored mercilessly into the quarterfinals as the only undefeated team and stamped itself as the sensible mid-tournament favorite to raise the trophy July 1 in Kiev.
Coach Joachim Löw inherited the national team from current U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann following the 2006 World Cup, continued the transition to a more attacking style with a fresh generation of creative players and now has Germany humming like a BMW.
After polishing off Denmark on Sunday, Löw said, “Today was the first decisive game of the tournament, but we did the job and qualified with nine points — a great performance, even if there’s still room for improvement.”
Improvement can only mean three goals per game, but with the wealth of offensive options charging behind marauding midfielders Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira, that’s not out of the question. It helps the cohesion that seven of the 11 first-choice players — including Gomez, Schweinsteiger, captain and left back Philipp Lahm and 6-foot-4 goalie Manuel Neuer — compete at the club level for German league juggernaut Bayern Munich.
Now Germany is out to avenge 1-0 losses in the Euro 2008 final and 2010 World Cup semifinals to Spain, which seems oddly toothless in the last quarter of the field, even resorting at points to a no-forward, six-midfielder alignment. But first up is a quarterfinal tomorrow against long-shot Greece full of geopolitical irony. The debt-ridden Greeks are boiling with resentment of the austerity measures that came with bailout funds from Germany and chancellor Angela Merkel.
“What do you think, we destroy them now?” said former Germany captain turned ESPN analyst Michael Ballack in a match preview. “Hopefully we go through by a comfortable 2-0.”
Next would be the winner of Sunday’s England-Italy match, which should be the most competitive clash of the final eight. The English are back at full strength with Wayne Rooney’s return from suspension, but needed a blown goal-line call to win its final round-robin match against Ukraine. It remains to be seen if hesitant manager Roy Hodgson gives the dynamic Theo Walcott a start against the tight Italian defense.
Spain, which rebounded from a tentative draw against Italy in its opener to thrash Ireland 4-0 thanks to two goals from hide-and-seek veteran forward Fernando Torres and squeak by Croatia 1-0, opens the knockout stage against France on Saturday. The French reportedly had a blowup in their locker room following Tuesday’s loss to Sweden, but coach Laurent Blanc apparently saw the virtues of non-passivity.
“It shows that there’s a reaction, and a bit of electricity,” Blanc said, according to reports. “I hope that there will be some against Spain, but in the right sense.”
Today’s first quarterfinal pits Group A’s Czech Republic as a decided underdog against Portugal. The Czechs’ chances for the upset hinge on super-quick young right back Theodor Gebre Selassie’s ability to hang with the dazzling Cristiano Ronaldo on the Portuguese star’s runs up the left wing.
An all-Iberian semifinal grudge match against Spain would be a treat.
jlehman@nypost.com