BERLIN – Germany relentlessly wore down Argentina, scored a tying goal in the 80th minute Friday, then won it 4-2 in a penalty-kick shootout as goalkeeper Jens Lehmann stopped two shots and the hosts made all four of theirs.
Rather than getting desperate when they fell Friday behind for the first time in the tournament, the Germans pressed the attack and beat Argentina's backup goalkeeper Leonardo Franco — playing only his third game with Argentina and his first minutes of the World Cup — on Miroslav Klose's header to pull even 1-1.
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After a scoreless extra time, Germany grabbed a spot in the semifinals opposite Italy by dominating the shootout against the second-string keeper, who never came close on any of the shots.
Oliver Neuville, Michael Ballack, Lukas Podolski and Tim Borowski had no trouble with Franco in the shootout. Roberto Ayala, who scored in the 49th minute, and Esteban Cambiasso were stopped by Lehmann.
When Lehmann made the final save, the German players, who stood arm-in-arm on the field, sprinted to mob him.
Argentina put Germany behind for the first time in the tournament on Ayala's header. The inexperienced Franco had replaced Roberto Abbondanzieri, who came out in the 71st, about five minutes after a collision with Klose following a free kick.
Italy 3, Ukraine 0
With an early strike, a goal-saving scramble and an assist from defender Gianluca Zambrotta, Italy held off the World Cup newcomer.
One minute after Zambrotta kicked a ball off his own goal line to quash Ukraine's last hope of an upset, Luca Toni scored his first World Cup goal with a header and added a second when he slid in Zambrotta's pass in the 69th minute.
Zambrotta made a sixth-minute run on the right, setting up a one-two with playmaker Francesco Totti and finishing it off with a searing 20-yard left-footed drive that was too hot for goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkosvskyi to stop.
Only his second goal in 56 games for Italy, it put the Azzurri in the situation they have perfected over decades of World Cup success: defending a slender lead. After a few narrow escapes, Toni made sure Italy did not have to worry until the final whistle.
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