Germany goal-scorer Mario Gomez admitted his battle with veteran Miroslav Klose for the single striker spot at Euro 2012 helped inspire him to score the winner against Portugal.

The Bayern Munich star’s second-half header from a Sami Khedira cross against Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal gave the Germans a winning start to their Group B campaign in Lviv, Ukraine, on Saturday.

Gomez scored with Lazio’s Klose – who was celebrating his 34th birthday – waiting to come on and the header earned him a reprieve before making way with 10 minutes left for Klose, who is five goals short of becoming Germany’s top scorer.

“I am pleased the coach showed some faith in me,” said 26-year-old Gomez with Germany next facing old rivals Holland in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

“It was clear before the match that Miro would come on at some point.”

Left-back and captain Philipp Lahm said conditions had been difficult in Lviv as a heavy downpour shortly before kick-off meant the match was played in nearly 80 per cent humidity.

“The most important thing is that we won, but it was hard work,” said Lahm.

“It was like playing in a sauna.”

Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Ozil was voted man-of-the-match for his efforts before coming off late on having worked tirelessly in defence and attack.

His Real team-mate Khedira admitted victory had been hard-earned for Loew’s team. “That was a really important game for us, it was very demanding and we had to run a lot,” said Khedira.

“At the end, we were all out on our feet.

“The Portuguese are in good condition, it was no surprise that we had to make a few changes towards the end.

“The Dutch have their backs against the wall now (they lost 1-0 to Denmark also on Saturday), the next game will be tough.”