The year 2006, highlighted by a summer fairy tale, ended quietly for Germany on a cool November evening with a fortunate 1-1 draw against Cyprus. After the euphoria that swept through the country during the World Cup, it seemed inevitable that the road to the Euro 2008 would have a speed bump here or there. That happened in Nicosia in the fourth qualifier.

The Germans faced an opponent that coach Jogi Löw had predicted would be very uncomfortable. In addition, Löw was forced, due to player injuries and illnesses, to go with six different starters from the team's last qualifier.

The revamped lineup seldom gelled, but it capably covered up that weakness in the early phase. When captain Michael Ballack put Germany up 1-0 in the 15th minute, it seemed as if the matter were settled, something that Löw believed too.

"We actually had the game in hand after going ahead. We had several good chances. That's when we should have upped our lead. It wasn't right that we gave away the game before half-time," the German coach said after the match.

80th-ranked Cypriots show up Germany

Cyprus for their part played a scrappy match that led to many German mistakes.

The Cypriots, ranked 80th in the FIFA world rankings, sensed that sixth-ranked Germany was vulnerable, and their hard work was rewarded in the 43rd minute, when an unmarked Ionnis Okkas streaked in from midfield to take a cross from the left and hammer home the equalizer.

In the second-half, Cyprus truly had the upper hand and had the go-ahead goal disallowed on a very close call. But for Löw, the spectacular year 2006 was hardly dampened by the 1-1 draw in Cyprus.

There was one other match in Germany's Group D. Ireland defeated San Marino clearly, 5-0. For Germany, despite the draw, after four of 12 qualifiers, it's still top of the table with 10 points, together with the Czech Republic. The top two teams qualify for Euro 2008.