UEFA Euro 2008 Group A

Group A of UEFA Euro 2008 was played from 7 to 15 June 2008. All six group matches were played at venues in Switzerland, in Basel and Geneva. The group consisted of co-hosts Switzerland, UEFA Euro 2004 hosts and finalists Portugal, as well as the Czech Republic and Turkey.

Portugal won their first two games against Turkey and the Czech Republic, scoring five goals in the process, to qualify for the quarter-finals as group winners. The second quarter-final berth was to go to the winners of the match between Turkey and the Czech Republic. As the two teams had identical records going into the game, if the match had finished as a draw, the quarter-final place would have been determined by a penalty shoot-out – what would have been the first group stage penalty shoot-out in a major international tournament. Meanwhile, Switzerland became the first team to be eliminated from the tournament after losing to Turkey 2–1 in their second match, Arda Turan scoring a deflected winner in the last minute, having lost 1–0 to the Czech Republic in their opening match.[1] This match between Switzerland and Turkey was dubbed the "Bath of Basel" as the rain poured down incessantly. The weather suited the long-ball Swiss more than the short-passing Turks, and before half time the Swiss had capitalised on the conditions. Indeed, Hakan Yakin's goal stemmed from the ball stopping in a puddle and allowing him an easy finish. In the second half Turkey's more direct style yielded two goals, the second a last-minute long-range shot from Arda Turan which went in off a deflection. This was the first of several last-gasp victories for the Turkish team at the tournament, made all the more impressive by their injury woes at that time.

The final round of matches saw the Portuguese name an under-strength team for their match against Switzerland, their progression already assured. Their opponents, however, fielded a strong side and won the match 2–0, securing their first win in a European Championship.[2] Meanwhile, with a place in the quarter-finals to play for, Turkey and the Czech Republic each had to win to qualify. The Czechs went into half time 1–0 up, and doubled their lead soon after half-time. Arda Turan brought the Turks back into the game in the 75th minute, before Petr Čech made an uncharacteristic error, dropping the ball at the feet of Nihat Kahveci, who was left with a simple finish. Boosted by the equaliser, Turkey went for the win, and two minutes later, Nihat curled the ball past Čech from 20 yards. Then, with just moments left to play, the Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Demirel pushed over the big Czech striker Jan Koller, resulting in a red card for the Turk. With no substitutions left, Turkey had to put Tuncay Şanlı in goal, but still managed to secure their place in the quarter-finals.[3] Tempers continued to boil over, as Milan Baroš was booked, despite having been on the bench for the whole game.

Teams

Draw position Team Pot Method of
qualification 		Date of
qualification 		Finals
appearance 		Last
appearance 		Previous best
performance 		UEFA Rankings FIFA Rankings
June 2008
November 2007[nb 1] May 2008[nb 2]
A1   Switzerland 1 Co-host 12 December 2002 3rd 2004 Group stage (1996, 2004) 19 16 44
A2  Czech Republic[nb 3] 2 Group D winner 17 October 2007 7th 2004 Winners (1976) 4 3 6
A3  Portugal 3 Group A runner-up 21 November 2007 5th 2004 Runners-up (2004) 8 5 11
A4  Turkey 4 Group C runner-up 21 November 2007 3rd 2000 Quarter-finals (2000) 14 14 20

Notes

  1. ^ The UEFA rankings of November 2007 were used for seeding for the final draw.
  2. ^ UEFA unveiled a new ranking system in May 2008 based on results up to November 2007.
  3. ^ From 1960 to 1980, the Czech Republic competed as Czechoslovakia.

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6[a] Advance to knockout phase
2  Turkey 3 2 0 1 5 5 0 6[a]
3  Czech Republic 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 3[b]
4   Switzerland (H) 3 1 0 2 3 3 0 3[b]
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head result: Portugal 2–0 Turkey.
  2. ^ a b Head-to-head result: Switzerland 0–1 Czech Republic.

In the quarter-finals,

  • The winner of Group A, Portugal, advanced to play the runner-up of Group B, Germany.
  • The runner-up of Group A, Turkey, advanced to play the winner of Group B, Croatia.

Matches

All times Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)

Switzerland vs Czech Republic

Switzerland 0–1 Czech Republic
Report
Attendance: 39,730[4]
Switzerland[5]
Czech Republic[5]
GK 1 Diego Benaglio
RB 5 Stephan Lichtsteiner downward-facing red arrow 75'
CB 20 Patrick Müller
CB 4 Philippe Senderos
LB 3 Ludovic Magnin Yellow card 59'
CM 8 Gökhan Inler
CM 15 Gelson Fernandes
RW 19 Valon Behrami downward-facing red arrow 84'
LW 16 Tranquillo Barnetta Yellow card 90+3'
CF 9 Alexander Frei (c) downward-facing red arrow 46'
CF 11 Marco Streller
Substitutions:
MF 10 Hakan Yakin upward-facing green arrow 46'
FW 22 Johan Vonlanthen Yellow card 76' upward-facing green arrow 75'
FW 12 Eren Derdiyok upward-facing green arrow 84'
Manager:
Köbi Kuhn
GK 1 Petr Čech
RB 2 Zdeněk Grygera
CB 21 Tomáš Ujfaluši (c)
CB 22 David Rozehnal
LB 6 Marek Jankulovski
DM 4 Tomáš Galásek
CM 14 David Jarolím downward-facing red arrow 87'
CM 3 Jan Polák
RW 7 Libor Sionko downward-facing red arrow 83'
LW 20 Jaroslav Plašil
CF 9 Jan Koller downward-facing red arrow 56'
Substitutions:
FW 10 Václav Svěrkoš upward-facing green arrow 56'
FW 11 Stanislav Vlček upward-facing green arrow 83'
MF 5 Radoslav Kováč upward-facing green arrow 87'
Manager:
Karel Brückner

Man of the Match:
Tomáš Ujfaluši (Czech Republic)[4]

Assistant referees:[5][6]
Alessandro Griselli (Italy)
Paolo Calcagno (Italy)
Fourth official:
Stéphane Lannoy (France)
Reserve assistant referee:
Alex Verstraeten (Belgium)

Portugal vs Turkey

Portugal 2–0 Turkey
 Report
Attendance: 29,106[7]
Portugal[8]
Turkey[8]
GK 1 Ricardo
RB 4 José Bosingwa
CB 15 Pepe
CB 16 Ricardo Carvalho
LB 2 Paulo Ferreira
CM 8 Petit
CM 10 João Moutinho
RW 7 Cristiano Ronaldo
AM 20 Deco downward-facing red arrow 90+2'
LW 11 Simão downward-facing red arrow 83'
CF 21 Nuno Gomes (c) downward-facing red arrow 69'
Substitutions:
FW 19 Nani upward-facing green arrow 69'
MF 6 Raul Meireles upward-facing green arrow 83'
DF 5 Fernando Meira upward-facing green arrow 90+2'
Manager:
Brazil Luiz Felipe Scolari
GK 23 Volkan Demirel
RB 22 Hamit Altıntop downward-facing red arrow 76'
CB 2 Servet Çetin
CB 4 Gökhan Zan Yellow card 51' downward-facing red arrow 55'
LB 3 Hakan Balta
RM 18 Colin Kazim-Richards Yellow card 4'
CM 5 Emre Belözoğlu (c)
LM 7 Mehmet Aurélio
AM 21 Mevlüt Erdinç downward-facing red arrow 46'
AM 17 Tuncay Şanlı
CF 8 Nihat Kahveci
Substitutions:
DF 20 Sabri Sarıoğlu Yellow card 73' upward-facing green arrow 46'
DF 15 Emre Aşık upward-facing green arrow 55'
FW 9 Semih Şentürk upward-facing green arrow 76'
Manager:
Fatih Terim

Man of the Match:
Pepe (Portugal)[7]

Assistant referees:[8][6]
Carsten Kadach (Germany)
Volker Wezel (Germany)
Fourth official:
Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
Reserve assistant referee:
Peter Hermans (Belgium)

Czech Republic vs Portugal

Czech Republic 1–3 Portugal
 Report
Attendance: 29,016[9]
Czech Republic[10]
Portugal[10]
GK 1 Petr Čech
RB 2 Zdeněk Grygera
CB 21 Tomáš Ujfaluši (c)
CB 22 David Rozehnal
LB 6 Marek Jankulovski
DM 4 Tomáš Galásek downward-facing red arrow 73'
CM 17 Marek Matějovský downward-facing red arrow 68'
CM 3 Jan Polák Yellow card 22'
RW 7 Libor Sionko
LW 20 Jaroslav Plašil downward-facing red arrow 84'
CF 15 Milan Baroš
Substitutions:
FW 11 Stanislav Vlček upward-facing green arrow 68'
FW 9 Jan Koller upward-facing green arrow 73'
MF 14 David Jarolím upward-facing green arrow 84'
Manager:
Karel Brückner
GK 1 Ricardo
RB 4 José Bosingwa Yellow card 31'
CB 15 Pepe
CB 16 Ricardo Carvalho
LB 2 Paulo Ferreira
CM 8 Petit
CM 10 João Moutinho downward-facing red arrow 75'
RW 7 Cristiano Ronaldo
AM 20 Deco
LW 11 Simão downward-facing red arrow 80'
CF 21 Nuno Gomes (c) downward-facing red arrow 79'
Substitutions:
DF 5 Fernando Meira upward-facing green arrow 75'
FW 9 Hugo Almeida upward-facing green arrow 79'
MF 17 Ricardo Quaresma upward-facing green arrow 80'
Manager:
Brazil Luiz Felipe Scolari

Man of the Match:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)[9]

Assistant referees:[10][6]
Dimitrios Bozatzidis (Greece)
Dimitrios Saraidaris (Greece)
Fourth official:
Kristinn Jakobsson (Iceland)
Reserve assistant referee:
Adriaan Inia (Netherlands)

Switzerland vs Turkey

Switzerland 1–2 Turkey
 Report
Attendance: 39,730[11]
Switzerland[12]
Turkey[12]
GK 1 Diego Benaglio
RB 5 Stephan Lichtsteiner
CB 20 Patrick Müller
CB 4 Philippe Senderos
LB 3 Ludovic Magnin (c)
RM 19 Valon Behrami
CM 8 Gökhan Inler
CM 15 Gelson Fernandes downward-facing red arrow 76'
LM 16 Tranquillo Barnetta downward-facing red arrow 66'
SS 10 Hakan Yakin downward-facing red arrow 85'
CF 12 Eren Derdiyok Yellow card 55'
Substitutions:
FW 22 Johan Vonlanthen upward-facing green arrow 66'
MF 7 Ricardo Cabanas upward-facing green arrow 76'
FW 14 Daniel Gygax upward-facing green arrow 85'
Manager:
Köbi Kuhn
GK 23 Volkan Demirel
RB 22 Hamit Altıntop
CB 15 Emre Aşık
CB 2 Servet Çetin
LB 3 Hakan Balta Yellow card 48'
DM 7 Mehmet Aurélio Yellow card 41'
RM 10 Gökdeniz Karadeniz downward-facing red arrow 46'
LM 14 Arda Turan
AM 11 Tümer Metin downward-facing red arrow 46'
CF 8 Nihat Kahveci (c) downward-facing red arrow 85'
CF 17 Tuncay Şanlı Yellow card 31'
Substitutions:
MF 6 Mehmet Topal upward-facing green arrow 46'
FW 9 Semih Şentürk upward-facing green arrow 46'
FW 18 Colin Kazim-Richards upward-facing green arrow 85'
Manager:
Fatih Terim

Man of the Match:
Arda Turan (Turkey)[11]

Assistant referees:[12][6]
Roman Slyško (Slovakia)
Martin Balko (Slovakia)
Fourth official:
Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Reserve assistant referee:
Hans ten Hoove (Netherlands)

Switzerland vs Portugal

Switzerland 2–0 Portugal
 Report
Attendance: 39,730[13]
Switzerland[14]
Portugal[14]
GK 18 Pascal Zuberbühler
RB 5 Stephan Lichtsteiner downward-facing red arrow 83'
CB 20 Patrick Müller
CB 4 Philippe Senderos
LB 3 Ludovic Magnin (c)
RM 19 Valon Behrami
CM 15 Gelson Fernandes Yellow card 90+2'
CM 8 Gökhan Inler
LM 22 Johan Vonlanthen Yellow card 37' downward-facing red arrow 61'
SS 10 Hakan Yakin Yellow card 27' downward-facing red arrow 86'
CF 12 Eren Derdiyok
Substitutions:
MF 16 Tranquillo Barnetta Yellow card 81' upward-facing green arrow 61'
DF 13 Stéphane Grichting upward-facing green arrow 83'
MF 7 Ricardo Cabanas upward-facing green arrow 86'
Manager:
Köbi Kuhn
GK 1 Ricardo
RB 13 Miguel Yellow card 81'
CB 15 Pepe
CB 3 Bruno Alves
LB 2 Paulo Ferreira Yellow card 30' downward-facing red arrow 41'
CM 5 Fernando Meira (c) Yellow card 78'
CM 18 Miguel Veloso downward-facing red arrow 71'
CM 6 Raul Meireles
RW 17 Ricardo Quaresma
LW 19 Nani
CF 23 Hélder Postiga downward-facing red arrow 74'
Substitutions:
DF 14 Jorge Ribeiro Yellow card 64' upward-facing green arrow 41'
MF 10 João Moutinho upward-facing green arrow 71'
FW 9 Hugo Almeida upward-facing green arrow 74'
Manager:
Brazil Luiz Felipe Scolari

Man of the Match:
Hakan Yakin (Switzerland)[13]

Assistant referees:[14][6]
Egon Bereuter (Austria)
Markus Mayr (Austria)
Fourth official:
Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
Reserve assistant referee:
Geir Åge Holen (Norway)

Turkey vs Czech Republic

Turkey 3–2 Czech Republic
 Report
Attendance: 29,016[15]
Turkey[16]
Czech Republic[16]
GK 23 Volkan Demirel Red card 90+2'
RB 22 Hamit Altıntop
CB 13 Emre Güngör downward-facing red arrow 63'
CB 2 Servet Çetin
LB 3 Hakan Balta
RM 6 Mehmet Topal Yellow card 6' downward-facing red arrow 57'
CM 7 Mehmet Aurélio Yellow card 10'
CM 14 Arda Turan Yellow card 62'
LM 17 Tuncay Şanlı
CF 8 Nihat Kahveci (c)
CF 9 Semih Şentürk downward-facing red arrow 46'
Substitutions:
DF 20 Sabri Sarıoğlu upward-facing green arrow 46'
FW 18 Colin Kazim-Richards upward-facing green arrow 57'
DF 15 Emre Aşık Yellow card 73' upward-facing green arrow 63'
Manager:
Fatih Terim
GK 1 Petr Čech
RB 2 Zdeněk Grygera
CB 21 Tomáš Ujfaluši (c) Yellow card 90+4'
CB 22 David Rozehnal
LB 6 Marek Jankulovski
DM 4 Tomáš Galásek Yellow card 80'
CM 17 Marek Matějovský downward-facing red arrow 39'
CM 3 Jan Polák
RW 7 Libor Sionko downward-facing red arrow 85'
LW 20 Jaroslav Plašil downward-facing red arrow 80'
CF 9 Jan Koller
Substitutions:
MF 14 David Jarolím upward-facing green arrow 39'
DF 13 Michal Kadlec upward-facing green arrow 80'
FW 11 Stanislav Vlček upward-facing green arrow 85'
Other disciplinary actions:
FW 15 Milan Baroš[note 1] Yellow card 90+5'
Manager:
Karel Brückner

Man of the Match:
Nihat Kahveci (Turkey)[15]

Assistant referees:[16][6]
Stefan Wittberg (Sweden)
Henrik Andrén (Sweden)
Fourth official:
Grzegorz Gilewski (Poland)
Reserve assistant referee:
Jan Petter Randen (Norway)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Baroš was booked on the substitutes' bench, despite not playing any part in the match.

References

  1. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (11 June 2008). "Switzerland 1–2 Turkey". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  2. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (15 June 2008). "Turkey 3–2 Czech R & Switzerland 2–0 Portugal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  3. ^ Ashdown, John (15 June 2008). "Turkey v Czech Republic – as it happened". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Full-time report Switzerland-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of Football European Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  5. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Switzerland-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Reserve officials – EURO 2008". UEFA. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Full-time report Portugal-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  8. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Portugal-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Full-time report Czech Republic-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  10. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Czech Republic-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Full-time report Switzerland-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  12. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Switzerland-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Full-time report Switzerland-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  14. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Switzerland-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  15. ^ a b "Full-time report Turkey-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  16. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Turkey-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

External links