There was drama before yesterday's nail-biting Germany-England clash in Bloemfontein when a plane made an emergency landing on a jam-packed N1 freeway.

Johannesburg pilot Paul Smit miraculously managed to land his Piper Saratoga light aircraft on a stretch of highway barely a kilometre long - and packed with cars and buses carrying tens of thousands of fans heading for the big match.

The aircraft's problems, possibly caused by propeller damage, started at about 11.30am.

Smit, of Benoni, has been flying for 15 years. He was travelling with his son, Colte, 16, daughter Tanika, 25, and her boyfriend, Roark McColgan, 27, to watch the game when the plane malfunctioned about 20km outside Bloemfontein.

''The traffic was quite heavy but [motorists] made space for us and moved out of the way,'' the relieved pilot said.

The N1 was closed for about two hours after the emergency landing, causing traffic to be backed up for at least 5km.

Miraculously, no one was hurt and the shaken family recovered enough to watch Germany destroy England's World Cup dream with a 4-1 win.

Smit told The Times after the match that he was thankful that no one was injured.

"The landing area was absolutely minute. It was very, very tight. I had to use the best skills that I have so that I didn't infringe on anyone's safety, my family's or any of the motorists'. Fortunately, I train a lot for handling emergencies."

Smit said he tried not to panic. "You can't let anything get in your mind because you're looking after everyone in the plane and everyone on the road. I just made sure I did it, that's all," he said.

Tanika Smit said her father helped to calm her and his other panicked passengers, but there were "hairy" moments.

She said the family left Petit airport, in Benoni, "without any problems, but about seven minutes from the Bloemfontein airport we discovered that the aircraft was experiencing problems. We immediately sent a may day message to the airport".

"We very nearly crashed. We were landing on the highway, there were cars in front of us and behind us. You don't know what's going to happen, and we were going at full speed," she said.

"We made it by a hair's breath, between power lines, signage and cars. It is miraculous we didn't hit anything - but it was because of my dad's excellent piloting skills. If it was anyone else piloting, I might not be here to talk about it," she added.

A road worker who asked to be identified only as ''Tshepo", said when he saw the plane he thought it was flying past "but my colleagues and I became concerned because it was flying very low".

"We realised that there was a problem when it tried to land but failed. It circled around and came back again. The landing was something dramatic, like a scene out of the movies. I thought the plane would burst into flames."

An ER24 emergency service spokesman at the scene told The Times: "All the motorists on the highway at the time were very co-operative and moved out of the way. Luckily, nobody was injured.

"Aviation investigators came to check out what was wrong with the plane; it seemed like it was something they could not fix on the side of the road. They had to order parts for the plane and as soon as they have them they can fix it and, we hope, take off [today]."

Police spokesman Xalisile Adoons said the light aircraft would remain at the roadside until this morning.

"We've put the plane on the side of the road where it will not cause any disruptions. The owner of the plane has arranged for security to guard the plane the whole night."

ýThe sleepy and chilly town of Bloemfontein came alive yesterday as German fans gulped gallons of beer, sang Shosholoza, and celebrated their victory against their perennial rivals, England.

Sigrid Hensel, from Munich, said: "I'm happy and glad. I am hoping that Argentina win their match tonight so that we can meet them at the quarterfinal."

She said of her stay in South Africa: "It is a fantastic country. I'm just sad Bafana Bafana are out."

"Delighted and excited" is how Germany supporter Sybille Reitz described her feelings after the match.

Fan Sebastian Schmidt said Germany would go all the way and lift the World Cup.

While the Germans sang in celebration of their winning through to the quarterfinals, English fans drank to drown their sorrows.

But some said the loss would not dampen their spirits.

Paula Riley, from London, said: "I'm very sad. I was hoping that we will go to the next round but it was not to be."

Riley said she and her friends were enjoying South Africa and would stay until Friday and see a few more matches.

"I think South Africa is a great place".

Others did not take kindly to losing to the Germans, and by such a margin.

"It's ridiculous. We were totally disorganised. We need a new coach and a new defence," said English fan Cameron Mullen.