A tactical masterclass from Rui Jorge has seen Portugal put five past a helpless Germany, with AS Monaco’s Bernardo Silva the star of the show.
Silva scored his first goal of the tournament midway through the first half, capping off a fine move which the Portuguese started in their own half.
The 20-year old lost his marker inside the area, before calmly slotting the ball past Champions League winner, Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Poor defending from Germany lead to Ricardo Pereira doubling Portugal’s lead after finding himself unmarked at the far post, tapping into an unguarded net.
Ivan Cavaleiro heaped more misery on the Germans, netting his side’s third goal, as Portugal look to reach their first final since 1994 – with a team that included the likes of Luis Figo and Rui Costa.
João Mário made it four just seconds after the restart, set up after good work by Silva - Mário adding to his winner against England in their opening game.
Malaga's Ricardo Horta completed the rout, scoring Portugal's fifth goal after 71 minutes, linking up with fellow substitute, João Cancelo.
Can Portugal go one further?
Portugal will face either Denmark or Sweden in the final on Tuesday 30, with Jorge’s side the now favourites to win the competition, 11 years after falling short of the final hurdle.
Jorge picked the same starting XI that drew 1-1 against Sweden, with the only doubt being Liverpool’s Tiago Ilori, who was passed fit – as the Portuguese U21s lined up with their familiar 4-4-2 diamond formation.
The only change amongst the Germany ranks was Schalke’s new signing, Johannes Geis, who came in for his new teammate, Max Meyer. Horst Hrubesch switched to a more defensive 4-1-4-1 formation as they looked to reach the final since their triumph in 2009.
Both teams wary of making early mistakes
A timid opening five minutes, Germany opened the game the more cautious in comparison to their group games – who looked to get bodies around the ever dangerous Silva.
Kevin Volland showed why he’s been one of the best players at the tournament, with his movement allowing the likes of Emre Can and Amin Younes to roam forward, with the Hoffenheim player having the first sniff of goal after seven minutes.
Portugal controlled most of the possession in the opening 10 minutes with Mário, William Carvalho and Sérgio Oliveira controlling the midfield – whilst Germany looked more suited to the counter-attack, allowing the Portuguese onto them.
Oliveira came close to giving Portugal the lead after Cavaleiro found Porto’s Ricardo, who with a neat turn, found the Portugal U21 captain on the edge of the area, who hit the ball first time – ter Stegen rooted to the spot.
Cavaleiro was involved moments later after Portugal took the lead midway through the first half. Silva continued his fine form, starting the move off in his own half, playing a one-two with Cavaleiro before firing past ter Stegen.
The Portuguese controlled the next 10 minutes, and their second goal came not so long after. Ricardo, who has had a relatively quiet Under-21 European Championship found himself unmarked at the far post, doubling Portugal’s lead.
Nico Schulz had the chance to pull one back for Germany just moments later, but the Hertha Berlin man was unable to keep his effort down – with the left midfielder blazing the ball over Jose Sa’s crossbar.
Younes had the chance to pull a goal back for Germany, forcing a magnificent save from Sa. Instead, it’s straight down the other end for Cavaleiro to net Portugal’s third goal, in added time of the first half, with the 21-year old firing the ball into the top corner.
It's all downhill for Germany
It took Portugal just one minute into the second half to add another to the tally through Sporting Lisbon’s Mario, whose effort took a deflection, taking the ball past the helpless ter Stegen.
Leonardo Bittencourt almost made an instant contribution to a poor German side, with the Hannover midfielder finding Volland, who was unable to take the ball down inside the area, as another chance goes begging.
Things went from bad to worse for Germany as Horta combined with Cancelo to net Portugal's fifth, before Bittencourt received a second yellow card.
Even with the likes of Meyer, Can and Volland on the pitch, Germany just couldn't get going, as Hrubesch's men were on the end of a drubbing - one that they'll want to forget as soon as possible.