I have been trying to find the right word to sum up Germany’s victory in the first quarter-final and, after much deleting, rewriting and nail chewing, I think I have finally got it: Efficient.

There is something about the subliminal efficiency of German international football that scares me. And, after last night’s game, it is evident it scared Portugal too.

Loew’s team may not be the most technically gifted. They may not be the most skilful or even the most pretty to watch. But, by George, they are darned efficient when it comes to winning football matches.

It is almost as if, when it comes to crucial games, they know exactly how much they need to do to beat the opponents that are put in front of them. They rarely do more than is necessary but they always do enough. And they do it well.

In fairness, Portugal were poor and, if anything, the final scoreline was a bit flattering on them as you always felt Germany could step up a gear if they really, really needed to.

With Cristiano Ronaldo failing to shine, my prediction that this Portugal team is still two years away from reaching its peak seems like it was pretty accurate. The defeat brings to an end Luiz Felipe Scolari’s reign as boss and, if truth be told, he looked last night like a man who already had one eye on his new job in London.

The result means Germany have done their part to set up a rematch with Croatia, the team that beat them in the group stages. All that stands in the way of that eventuality is Turkey who take on the Croats this evening.

Based on their form so far you have to say the Turks go into the match as definite underdogs but one of the beauties of knock-out football is that it is a great leveller of teams.

Few people expected Turkey to even get this far so the pressure is off them. Having said that, Croatia were not on many people’s list of pre-tournament favourites either so they will be able to approach the game in a relaxed fashion too.

And when you have two teams with nothing to lose and everything to gain, the football they produce has a tendancy to be exciting, entertaining and carefree.

So we could be in for another cracker.

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Meanwhile, on a much more serious note, let’s spare a thought for Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz whose prematurely-born daughter died this week.

As a recent father myself I can only imagine the heartache he and his wife must be feeling.

To his credit he has decided to stay with the squad and has made himself available for selection for tomorrow’s quarter-final with Russia.

Whether he plays or not is irrelevant because he bravery should help us all keep this football thing in perspective.