Germany 1
Poland 0

Germany grabbed a late winner to defeat gutsy Poland 1-0 thanks to an Oliver Neuville goal in injury time in a tense, bruising Group A encounter last night.

The hosts, looking for a second successive win, had a series of chances and hit the bar twice through Miroslav Klose and captain Michael Ballack in a desperate late attempt to score.

Just when it looked as if they would have to settle for a draw Neuville popped up in the area to score the winner and leave Germany top of the group with six points from two wins.

Poland, who played the last 15 minutes with 10 men, battled gamely against their near neighbours but were left heart-broken by Germany's last-gasp goal.

The Poles, who succumbed weakly 2-0 to Ecuador in their opener, battled manfully but never looked like scoring and with one group game left face another first round exit. It was a World Cup occasion to savour as the two sets of fans in the 65,000 capacity stadium produced a wall of noise.

Poland, who had not beaten their fierce rivals in 14 attempts spanning 85 years, snapped into the tackle at every opportunity in a high-paced opening.

However Germany had much the better of the first half. Klose, who scored twice in Germany's 4-2 victory over Costa Rica in the tournament's opening match, should have had his third when he glanced a header just wide from a Philipp Lahm cross after 21 minutes.

Lukas Podolski, like Klose Polish-born, then put the ball in exactly the same place in first-half injury time after another Lahm cross and the chance went begging.

Poland showed plenty of aggression but there was a lack of quality about their attacks and they rarely threatened.

After a low-key start, Ballack, who missed the first game with a calf strain, gradually began to exert an influence with his probing passes forcing the Poles to defend ever more desperately.

It became even tougher for them on 75 minutes when Radoslaw Sobolewski was sent off for a second booking.

Poland goalkeeper Artur Boruc made two outstanding saves to deny Lahm and Neuville in a furious finale.

But he could nothing to keep out Neuville's smartly taken goal that gave Germany their first tournament win over European opposition since beating Czech Republic in the Euro '96 final.

'Subs turned tide' - Klinsmann

Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann said the introduction of striker Oliver Neuville and winger David Odonkor finally turned the tide in their epic win over Poland.

"We wanted to bring more speed into the match and both (substitutes) are fast - they brought some life to the match," a relieved Klinsmann said.

"The whole team tried to put pressure on them the whole time. We worked hard and hoped the efforts would bear fruit."

Germany: 1-Lehmann; 3-Friedrich (22-Odonkor 63), 21-Metzelder, 17-Mertesacker, 16-Lahm; 19-Schneider, 8-Frings, 13-Ballack, 7-Schweinsteiger (18-Borowski 77); 20-Podolski (10-Neuville 71), 11-Klose.

Poland: 1-Boruc; 4-Baszczynski, 6-Bak, 19-Bosacki, 14-Zewlakow (17-Dudka 83); 8-Krzynowek (18-Lewandowski 77), 16-Radomski, 7-Sobolewski, 21-Jelen (23-Brozek 90), 9-Zurawski; 15-Smolarek.

Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain).

Scorer: Neuville 90.

Red card: Sobolewski (75).

Half-time: 0-0. Attendance: 65,000.