Sami Khedira restored Germany's lead on 61 minutes with one of the goals of the tournament so far.
- Germany beat Greece 4-2 in Euro 2012 quarterfinal
- Philip Lahm put Germans in front before Giorgios Samaras' shock leveller
- Sami Khedira, Miroslav Klose and Marco Reus restored German advantage
- Dimitris Salpingidis netted consolation penalty for Greece
(CNN) -- Germany 4-2 Greece
Germany cruised into the semifinals of Euro 2012 as Greece's unlikely run in the tournament was ruthlessly brought to a halt in Gdansk.
Philip Lahm's long-range strike, Sami Khedira's superb volley, Miroslav Klose's header and a Marco Reus thunderbolt sealed a comfortable victory.
The result only looked briefly in doubt when Giorgios Samaras brought Greece level for six minutes in the second half, while Dimitris Salpingidis made the Greek deficit respectable with a late penalty.
Germany's win vindicated a pre-match selection gamble from their manager Joachim Low, who surprisingly rested his three main attackers Mario Gomez, Thomas Mueller and Lukas Podolski.
They will all expect to return to the starting line-up when Germany take on either England or Italy in next Thursday's semifinal.
"I thought I had to change things after three wins," said Low following the victory.
"That was a class performance. We failed to take an early lead, but we did not panic. We can be proud of the team."
A giant German football shirt is seen in the crowd during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece at The Municipal Stadium on Friday, June 22 in Gdansk, Poland. Euro 2012, bringing together 16 of Europe's best national soccer teams, began June 8 in Poland and Ukraine. See the action as it unfolds here. 
Dimitris Salpigidis of Greece fouls Mats Hummels of Germany during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Manuel Neuer of Germany dives the wrong way as Dimitris Salpigidis of Greece (not pictured) scores from the penalty spot during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Georgios Samaras of Greece dribbles by Sami Khedira, left, and Jerome Boateng of Germany during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Bastian Schweinsteiger of Germany tackles Nikos Liberopoulos of Greece during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Miroslav Klose of Germany scores their third goal during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Georgios Samaras of Greece scores the team's first goal past Manuel Neuer of Germany during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Sami Khedira of Germany celebrates scoring the team's second goal with Bastian Schweinsteiger of Germany during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Sami Khedira of Germany scores the team's second goal past Michalis Sifakis of Greece during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Marco Reus of Germany celebrates scoring the team's fourth goal with Mesut Ozil of Germany during the quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Greece's Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Germany's Sami Khedira compete for the ball during the Euro 2012 quarter-final match between Germany and Greece. 
Germany's Miroslav Klose clashes with Greece's Dimitris Salpigidis during the Euro 2012 quarter-final match at The Municipal Stadium in Gdansk, Poland. 
Germany's Marco Reus celebrates scoring the team's fourth goal with Jerome Boateng during the Euro 2012 quarter-final match against Greece at The Municipal Stadium in Gdansk, Poland. 
Georgios Samaras and Kostas Katsouranis celebrate scoring a goal that tied their game against Germany, 1-1, during a quarterfinal match at Euro 2012 in Gdansk, Poland. 
Sami Khedira celebrates scoring a goal that put Germany ahead 2-1 against Greece on Friday, June 22, during a quarterfinal match in Gdansk, Poland. 
Georgios Samaras scores Greece's first goal past German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. 
Philipp Lahm, Marco Reus and Miroslav Klose celebrate a goal that put Germany ahead of Greece 1-0 in Friday's quarterfinal match. 
Tens of thousands of fans in the Memorial Stadium watch as the German team celebrates after a goal. 
Germany's Holger Badstuber chases down Greece's Georgios Samaras during the Euro 2012 quarterfinal match at the Municipal Stadium in Gdansk, Poland. 
Vasilis Torosidis of Greece shadows Marco Reus of Germany during their Euro 2012 quarterfinal match in Gdansk, Poland. 
Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger beats Greece's Georgios Samaras to the ball. 
A Greek fan watches the quarterfinal match against Germany on Friday. 
Miroslav Klose of Germany and Sokratis Papastathopoulos of Greece fight for the ball. 
Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger, left, tackles Giannis Maniatis of Greece. 
Fans for Germany show their spirit in the Municipal Stadium in Gdansk. 
Jan Rezek of Czech Republic and Pepe of Portugal battle for the ball during the quarterfinal match between Czech Republic and Portugal on Thursday, June 21. 
Petr Jiracek of the Czech Republic and teammates look dejected after conceding the opening goal to Portugal. 
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring the opening goal with his teammates during the quarter final match against the Czech Republic. 
Tomas Sivok and David Limbersky of Czech Republic defend the attack of Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. 
Tom Hubschman of Czech Republic defends against Portugal's Nani during the quarter final between Czech Republic and Portugal at The National Stadium on June 21, 2012 in Warsaw. 
Joao Pereira of Portugal and Vaclav Pilar of Czech Republic jump for the ball. 
Portgual's Cristiano Ronaldo attempts an overhead kick during the Euro 2012 quarter final match between the Czech Republic and Portugal at the National Stadium on Thursday, June 21, in Warsaw, Poland. 
A Czech Republic fan celebrates during a quarter-final match between the Czech Republic and Portugal on Thursday in Warsaw, Poland. 
A Portugal fan holds up a sign during the quarter-final match between the Czech Republic and Portugal. 
Miguel Veloso of Portugal and Vladimir Darida of Czech Republic battle for the ball during the quarter-final match between Czech Republic and Portugal. 
Helder Postiga of Portugal tackles Tomas Sivok of Czech Republic during the quarter-final match. 
Ziatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden scores the opening goal during the group D match against France on Tuesday, June 19. 
Franck Ribery of France goes past Andreas Granqvist of Sweden during the match between Sweden and France. 
Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden celebrates his goal during the group D match against France. 
Karim Benzema of France is challenged by Jonas Olsson of Sweden during the match between Sweden and France. 
Marko Devic of Ukraine reacts during the match between England and Ukraine. 
Wayne Rooney of England scores their first goal during the match between England and Ukraine on Tuesday. 
Head coach Oleh Blokhin of Ukraine shouts instructions during the match between England and Ukraine. 
John Terry of England clears an effort from Marko Devic of Ukraine off the line during the match between England and Ukraine. 
Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden celebrates his goal with Jonas Olsson, left, and Martin Olsson during the match between Sweden and France. 
Wayne Rooney of England controls the ball during the match between England and Ukraine. 
Yaroslav Rakytskyy of Ukraine and Danny Welbeck of England compete for the ball during the match between England and Ukraine. 
Wayne Rooney of England clashes with Denys Garmash of Ukraine during the match between England and Ukraine. 
Franck Ribery of France is tackled by Anders Svensson of Sweden during the match between Sweden and France. 
England fans soak up the atmosphere during the match between England and Ukraine. 
Danny Welbeck of England beats Yevhen Khacheridi of Ukraine to the ball during the match between England and Ukraine. 
A young Ukraine fan shows enthusiasm ahead of the match between England and Ukraine on Tuesday, June 19. 
England's fans get ready for the match against Ukraine at Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine. 
Wayne Rooney of England breaks past Denys Harmash of Ukraine during Tuesday's match in Donetsk, Ukraine. 
Emir Bajrami of Sweden gets tackled by France's Hatem Ben Arfa, left, and Yann M'Vila during a Group D match Tuesday in Kiev, Ukraine. 
Spain's Alvaro Arbeloa and Croatia's Ivan Strinic fight for the ball during the group C match at Municipal Stadium in Gdansk, Poland, on Monday, June 18. 
Ireland fans do the Poznan as they enjoy the atmosphere during the match against Italy. 
Italy's Antonio Cassano heads in the opening goal against Ireland. 
Italy's Andrea Barzagli tackles Ireland's Kevin Doyle on Monday. 
Jesus Navas scores Spain's first goal during the group C match against Croatia on Monday. 
Croatia's Luka Modric looks on after Spain's Jesus Navas scores a goal. 
Italy's Claudio Marchisio jumps to control the ball during the match against Ireland. 
Italy's Mario Balotelli smiles at Ireland's Shay Given. 
Kevin Doyle of Ireland and Daniele De Rossi of Italy jump for the ball on Monday. 
Badges adorn an Ireland fan's scarf ahead of the group C match between Italy and Ireland. 
An Irish fan attempts to catch a snapshot of the action ahead of match between Italy and Ireland. 
Kevin Doyle of Ireland tackles Andrea Pirlo of Italy. 
A fan awaits the action before the start of the match between Croatia and Spain. 
A Spanish fan waits for the start of the match between Croatiia and Spain. 
Luka Modric of Croatia is closed down by Alvaro Arbeloa and Xavi of Spain. 
Danijel Pranjic of Croatia and Alvaro Arbeloa of Spain compete for the ball. 
Lars Bender of Germany celebrates with Miroslav Klose after scoring the team's second goal against Denmark in L'viv, Ukraine, on Sunday, June 17. 
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates with his teammates as Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands looks dejected during Sunday's match in Kharkov, Ukraine. 
Jores Okore, William Kvist and Lars Jacobsen of Denmark face defeat in the match against Germany on Sunday. 
Germany's Lars Bender celebrates during the match against Denmark. 
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, bottom left, celebrates with teammates Miguel Veloso and Custodio after scoring the team's second goal against the Netherlands. 
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal reacts to his goal against the Netherlands. 
Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer of Germany walk toward the ball after Michael Krohn-Dehli of Denmark scored. 
Portugal's Bruno Alves battles Joris Mathijsen of the Netherlands for control of the ball. 
A Dutch fan makes a heart shape with her hands before the start of the team's match against Portugal. 
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal competes with Ron Vlaar of the Netherlands. 
Michael Krohn-Dehli of Denmark reacts after scoring the first goal against Germany. 
Miguel Veloso of Portugal challenges Robin van Persie of the Netherlands on Sunday. 
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates scoring the first goal against the Netherlands. 
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo kicks the ball past a Dutch defender during Sunday's match. 
Lukas Podolski of Germany celebrates scoring the first goal against Denmark. 
Rafael van der Vaart of the Netherlands scores the opening goal past Miguel Veloso of Portugal. 
Fans of Portugal rally ahead of the team's match against Netherlands in Metalist Stadium. 
Sami Khedira of Germany and Christian Eriksen of Denmark compete for the ball. 
Fans of Germany dress up for the match against Denmark. 
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal looks on before the match against the Netherlands. 
A Danish fan enjoys the atmosphere ahead of the team's match against Germany. 
Dutch fans cheer during the match against Portugual on Sunday. 
Georgios Samaras, Giannis Maniatis and Giorgos Tzavelas of Greece celebrate victory during the match between Greece and Russia on Saturday, June 16. 
Giorgos Tzavelas of Greece celebrates during the match between Greece and Russia. 
Damien Perquis of Poland lies on the pitch at the final whistle during the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Poland fans look on during the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Giorgos Karagounis of Greece, center, celebrates Greece's victory over Russia and and adnvancement to the quarter finals during the match between Greece and Russia. 
Robert Lewandowski of Poland sits dejected at the final whistle during the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Aleksandr Anyukov of Russia and Georgios Samaras of Greece battle for the ball during the group A match between Greece and Russia. 
Sergey Ignashevich, Aleksey Berezutskiy and Igor Denisov of Russia look dejected during the match between Greece and Russia. 
Petr Jiracek of Czech Republic celebrates scoring the first goal with Milan Baros of Czech Republic during the group A match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Dariusz Dudka of Poland goes in to win the ball during the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Giorgos Karagounis of Greece reacts after he receives a yellow card for diving from referee Jonas Eriksson during the match between Greece and Russia. 
Giorgos Karagounis of Greece, center, celebrates scoring the opening goal with teammates, left to right, Kostas Katsouranis, Giannis Maniatis and Sotiris Ninis during the match between Greece and Russia. 
Giorgos Karagounis of Greece scores the opening goal past Vyacheslav Malafeev of Russia during the match between Greece and Russia. 
Eugen Polanski of Poland brings down Vaclav Pilar of Czech Republic during the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Giorgos Karagounis of Greece scores the opening goal under pressure from Yuriy Zhirkov of Russia during the match between Greece and Russia on Saturday. 
Yuriy Zhirkov of Russia jumps over the challenge by Dimitris Salpigidis of Greece during the match between Greece and Russia. 
Football fans enjoy the atmopshere during the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Petr Jiracek of Czech Republic looks on during the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Robert Lewandowski of Poland tackles Theodor Gebre Selassie of Czech Republic during the group match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Andrey Arshavin of Russia falls under the challenge by Giorgos Tzavelas of Greece during the the match between Greece and Russia. 
A Greece fan enjoys the atmosphere ahead of the match between Greece and Russia. 
Russian fans enjoy the atmosphere ahead of the match between Greece and Russia. 
Kostas Katsouranis of Greece and Denis Glushakov of Russia tussle for the ball during the match between Greece and Russia. 
Jakub Blaszczykowski of Poland jumps to avoid a challenge from Petr Cech of Czech Republic during the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
Football fans enjoy the atmopshere ahead of the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 
The Greece team celebrate during match between Greece and Russia. 
David Limbersky of Czech Republic is tackled by Dariusz Dudka of Poland during the match between Czech Republic and Poland. 