DORTMUND, Germany - Artur Boruc must have thought he'd done enough.

The Poland goalkeeper made a string of saves Wednesday to repel Germany's attack to keep his 10-man team level going into injury time. Then Oliver Neuville scored to give World Cup host Germany a 1-0 win.

Still, the Celtic keeper's diving saves, punches and scrambles earned him the respect from teammates and opponents.

"I think he was the best Pole today," Germany striker Miroslav Klose said.

Klose should know.

Only 10 minutes into the match, Klose hit a left-footed shot that Boruc stopped with a diving save. And despite several good opportunities, Klose _ who scored two goals in Germany's 4-2 opening win against Costa Rica on Friday _ couldn't beat Boruc all night.

Striker Lukas Podolski challenged Boruc in the 36th minute, turning quickly in the box for a left-footed drive that the keeper smothered.

In the closing moments, Germany defender Philipp Lahm set up Podolski with another solid chance, leaving the striker with only Boruc to beat. Boruc came out to cut the angle and Podolski sent the ball wide from three meters (yards).

Podolski praised the Poles' performance, saying "it was a very hard match," and singled out the Poland keeper's performance.

"He played very, very well," Podolski said.

Boruc's solid showing should put to rest the controversy surrounding coach Pawel Janas' decision to leave Liverpool's Jerzy Dudek off his squad.

Janas was heavily criticized in Poland for his choice to drop Dudek, who starred for the English club in its 2005 Champions League final win.

Boruc's recent play for the national team was also a cause of concern. Mistakes against the United States and Colombia in pre-World Cup friendlies directly led to goals.

Boruc's teammates had nothing but praise for him after Wednesday's match.

"I think you can describe his play in one word," defender Michal Zewlakow said. "Fantastic."