UEFA Euro 2008 Group A

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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, the Czech Republic, and Türkiye were later drawn in same group in the UEFA Euro 2024. [1]

Contents

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. [2] 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 capitalized 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 as group winners. Their opponents, however, fielded a strong side and won the match 2–0, securing their first win in a European Championship. [3] 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. [4] Tempers continued to boil over, as Milan Baroš was booked, despite having been on the bench for the whole game.

Teams

Draw positionTeamPotMethod 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]
A1Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 1Co-host12 December 20023rd 2004 Group stage (1996, 2004)191644
A2Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic [nb 3] 2 Group D winner17 October 20077th 2004 Winners (1976)436
A3Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 3 Group A runner-up21 November 20075th 2004 Runners-up (2004)8511
A4Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 4 Group C runner-up21 November 20073rd 2000 Quarter-finals (2000)141420

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

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 320153+26 [a] Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 32015506 [a]
3Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 31024623 [b]
4Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland (H)31023303 [b]
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Head-to-head result: Portugal 2–0 Turkey.
  2. 1 2 Head-to-head result: Switzerland 0–1 Czech Republic.

In the quarter-finals,

Matches

Switzerland vs Czech Republic

Switzerland  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg0–1Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
Report
  • Svěrkoš Soccerball shade.svg71'
St. Jakob-Park, Basel
Attendance: 39,730 [5]
Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy)
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Switzerland [6]
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Czech Republic [6]
GK1 Diego Benaglio
RB5 Stephan Lichtsteiner Sub off.svg 75'
CB20 Patrick Müller
CB4 Philippe Senderos
LB3 Ludovic Magnin Yellow card.svg 59'
CM8 Gökhan Inler
CM15 Gelson Fernandes
RW19 Valon Behrami Sub off.svg 84'
LW16 Tranquillo Barnetta Yellow card.svg 90+3'
CF9 Alexander Frei (c)Sub off.svg 46'
CF11 Marco Streller
Substitutions:
MF10 Hakan Yakin Sub on.svg 46'
FW22 Johan Vonlanthen Yellow card.svg 76'Sub on.svg 75'
FW12 Eren Derdiyok Sub on.svg 84'
Manager:
Köbi Kuhn
SUI-CZE 2008-06-07.svg
GK1 Petr Čech
RB2 Zdeněk Grygera
CB21 Tomáš Ujfaluši (c)
CB22 David Rozehnal
LB6 Marek Jankulovski
DM4 Tomáš Galásek
CM14 David Jarolím Sub off.svg 87'
CM3 Jan Polák
RW7 Libor Sionko Sub off.svg 83'
LW20 Jaroslav Plašil
CF9 Jan Koller Sub off.svg 56'
Substitutions:
FW10 Václav Svěrkoš Sub on.svg 56'
FW11 Stanislav Vlček Sub on.svg 83'
MF5 Radoslav Kováč Sub on.svg 87'
Manager:
Karel Brückner

Man of the Match:
Tomáš Ujfaluši (Czech Republic) [5]

Assistant referees: [6] [7]
Alessandro Griselli (Italy)
Paolo Calcagno (Italy)
Fourth official:
Stéphane Lannoy (France)
Reserve assistant referee:
Alex Verstraeten (Belgium)

Portugal vs Turkey

Portugal  Flag of Portugal (official).svg2–0Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey
Report
Stade de Genève, Geneva
Attendance: 29,106 [8]
Referee: Herbert Fandel (Germany)
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Portugal [9]
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Turkey [9]
GK1 Ricardo
RB4 José Bosingwa
CB15 Pepe
CB16 Ricardo Carvalho
LB2 Paulo Ferreira
CM8 Petit
CM10 João Moutinho
RW7 Cristiano Ronaldo
AM20 Deco Sub off.svg 90+2'
LW11 Simão Sub off.svg 83'
CF21 Nuno Gomes (c)Sub off.svg 69'
Substitutions:
FW19 Nani Sub on.svg 69'
MF6 Raul Meireles Sub on.svg 83'
DF5 Fernando Meira Sub on.svg 90+2'
Manager:
Flag of Brazil.svg Luiz Felipe Scolari
POR-TUR 2008-06-07.svg
GK23 Volkan Demirel
RB22 Hamit Altıntop Sub off.svg 76'
CB2 Servet Çetin
CB4 Gökhan Zan Yellow card.svg 51'Sub off.svg 55'
LB3 Hakan Balta
RM18 Colin Kazim-Richards Yellow card.svg 4'
CM5 Emre Belözoğlu (c)
LM7 Mehmet Aurélio
AM21 Mevlüt Erdinç Sub off.svg 46'
AM17 Tuncay Şanlı
CF8 Nihat Kahveci
Substitutions:
DF20 Sabri Sarıoğlu Yellow card.svg 73'Sub on.svg 46'
DF15 Emre Aşık Sub on.svg 55'
FW9 Semih Şentürk Sub on.svg 76'
Manager:
Fatih Terim

Man of the Match:
Pepe (Portugal) [8]

Assistant referees: [9] [7]
Carsten Kadach (Germany)
Volker Wezel (Germany)
Fourth official:
Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
Reserve assistant referee:
Peter Hermans (Belgium)

Czech Republic vs Portugal

Czech Republic  Flag of the Czech Republic.svg1–3Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal
Report
Stade de Genève, Geneva
Attendance: 29,016 [10]
Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)
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Czech Republic [11]
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Portugal [11]
GK1 Petr Čech
RB2 Zdeněk Grygera
CB21 Tomáš Ujfaluši (c)
CB22 David Rozehnal
LB6 Marek Jankulovski
DM4 Tomáš Galásek Sub off.svg 73'
CM17 Marek Matějovský Sub off.svg 68'
CM3 Jan Polák Yellow card.svg 22'
RW7 Libor Sionko
LW20 Jaroslav Plašil Sub off.svg 84'
CF15 Milan Baroš
Substitutions:
FW11 Stanislav Vlček Sub on.svg 68'
FW9 Jan Koller Sub on.svg 73'
MF14 David Jarolím Sub on.svg 84'
Manager:
Karel Brückner
CZE-POR 2008-06-11.svg
GK1 Ricardo
RB4 José Bosingwa Yellow card.svg 31'
CB15 Pepe
CB16 Ricardo Carvalho
LB2 Paulo Ferreira
CM8 Petit
CM10 João Moutinho Sub off.svg 75'
RW7 Cristiano Ronaldo
AM20 Deco
LW11 Simão Sub off.svg 80'
CF21 Nuno Gomes (c)Sub off.svg 79'
Substitutions:
DF5 Fernando Meira Sub on.svg 75'
FW9 Hugo Almeida Sub on.svg 79'
MF17 Ricardo Quaresma Sub on.svg 80'
Manager:
Flag of Brazil.svg Luiz Felipe Scolari

Man of the Match:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) [10]

Assistant referees: [11] [7]
Dimitrios Bozatzidis (Greece)
Dimitrios Saraidaris (Greece)
Fourth official:
Kristinn Jakobsson (Iceland)
Reserve assistant referee:
Adriaan Inia (Netherlands)

Switzerland vs Turkey

Switzerland  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg1–2Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey
Report
St. Jakob-Park, Basel
Attendance: 39,730 [12]
Referee: Ľuboš Micheľ (Slovakia)
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Switzerland [13]
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Turkey [13]
GK1 Diego Benaglio
RB5 Stephan Lichtsteiner
CB20 Patrick Müller
CB4 Philippe Senderos
LB3 Ludovic Magnin (c)
RM19 Valon Behrami
CM8 Gökhan Inler
CM15 Gelson Fernandes Sub off.svg 76'
LM16 Tranquillo Barnetta Sub off.svg 66'
SS10 Hakan Yakin Sub off.svg 85'
CF12 Eren Derdiyok Yellow card.svg 55'
Substitutions:
FW22 Johan Vonlanthen Sub on.svg 66'
MF7 Ricardo Cabanas Sub on.svg 76'
FW14 Daniel Gygax Sub on.svg 85'
Manager:
Köbi Kuhn
SUI-TUR 2008-06-11.svg
GK23 Volkan Demirel
RB22 Hamit Altıntop
CB15 Emre Aşık
CB2 Servet Çetin
LB3 Hakan Balta Yellow card.svg 48'
DM7 Mehmet Aurélio Yellow card.svg 41'
RM10 Gökdeniz Karadeniz Sub off.svg 46'
LM14 Arda Turan
AM11 Tümer Metin Sub off.svg 46'
CF8 Nihat Kahveci (c)Sub off.svg 85'
CF17 Tuncay Şanlı Yellow card.svg 31'
Substitutions:
MF6 Mehmet Topal Sub on.svg 46'
FW9 Semih Şentürk Sub on.svg 46'
FW18 Colin Kazim-Richards Sub on.svg 85'
Manager:
Fatih Terim

Man of the Match:
Arda Turan (Turkey) [12]

Assistant referees: [13] [7]
Roman Slyško (Slovakia)
Martin Balko (Slovakia)
Fourth official:
Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Reserve assistant referee:
Hans ten Hoove (Netherlands)

Switzerland vs Portugal

Switzerland  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg2–0Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal
Report
St. Jakob-Park, Basel
Attendance: 39,730 [14]
Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria)
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Switzerland [15]
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Portugal [15]
GK18 Pascal Zuberbühler
RB5 Stephan Lichtsteiner Sub off.svg 83'
CB20 Patrick Müller
CB4 Philippe Senderos
LB3 Ludovic Magnin (c)
RM19 Valon Behrami
CM15 Gelson Fernandes Yellow card.svg 90+2'
CM8 Gökhan Inler
LM22 Johan Vonlanthen Yellow card.svg 37'Sub off.svg 61'
SS10 Hakan Yakin Yellow card.svg 27'Sub off.svg 86'
CF12 Eren Derdiyok
Substitutions:
MF16 Tranquillo Barnetta Yellow card.svg 81'Sub on.svg 61'
DF13 Stéphane Grichting Sub on.svg 83'
MF7 Ricardo Cabanas Sub on.svg 86'
Manager:
Köbi Kuhn
SUI-POR 2008-06-15.svg
GK1 Ricardo
RB13 Miguel Yellow card.svg 81'
CB15 Pepe
CB3 Bruno Alves
LB2 Paulo Ferreira Yellow card.svg 30'Sub off.svg 41'
CM5 Fernando Meira (c)Yellow card.svg 78'
CM18 Miguel Veloso Sub off.svg 71'
CM6 Raul Meireles
RW17 Ricardo Quaresma
LW19 Nani
CF23 Hélder Postiga Sub off.svg 74'
Substitutions:
DF14 Jorge Ribeiro Yellow card.svg 64'Sub on.svg 41'
MF10 João Moutinho Sub on.svg 71'
FW9 Hugo Almeida Sub on.svg 74'
Manager:
Flag of Brazil.svg Luiz Felipe Scolari

Man of the Match:
Hakan Yakin (Switzerland) [14]

Assistant referees: [15] [7]
Egon Bereuter (Austria)
Markus Mayr (Austria)
Fourth official:
Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
Reserve assistant referee:
Geir Åge Holen (Norway)

Turkey vs Czech Republic

Turkey  Flag of Turkey.svg3–2Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
Report
Stade de Genève, Geneva
Attendance: 29,016 [16]
Referee: Peter Fröjdfeldt (Sweden)
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Turkey [17]
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Kit shorts red stripes.png
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks band red.png
Kit socks long.svg
Czech Republic [17]
GK23 Volkan Demirel Red card.svg 90+2'
RB22 Hamit Altıntop
CB13 Emre Güngör Sub off.svg 63'
CB2 Servet Çetin
LB3 Hakan Balta
RM6 Mehmet Topal Yellow card.svg 6'Sub off.svg 57'
CM7 Mehmet Aurélio Yellow card.svg 10'
CM14 Arda Turan Yellow card.svg 62'
LM17 Tuncay Şanlı
CF8 Nihat Kahveci (c)
CF9 Semih Şentürk Sub off.svg 46'
Substitutions:
DF20 Sabri Sarıoğlu Sub on.svg 46'
FW18 Colin Kazim-Richards Sub on.svg 57'
DF15 Emre Aşık Yellow card.svg 73'Sub on.svg 63'
Manager:
Fatih Terim
TUR-CZE 2008-06-15.svg
GK1 Petr Čech
RB2 Zdeněk Grygera
CB21 Tomáš Ujfaluši (c)Yellow card.svg 90+4'
CB22 David Rozehnal
LB6 Marek Jankulovski
DM4 Tomáš Galásek Yellow card.svg 80'
CM17 Marek Matějovský Sub off.svg 39'
CM3 Jan Polák
RW7 Libor Sionko Sub off.svg 85'
LW20 Jaroslav Plašil Sub off.svg 80'
CF9 Jan Koller
Substitutions:
MF14 David Jarolím Sub on.svg 39'
DF13 Michal Kadlec Sub on.svg 80'
FW11 Stanislav Vlček Sub on.svg 85'
Other disciplinary actions:
FW15 Milan Baroš Yellow card.svg 90+5'
Manager:
Karel Brückner

Man of the Match:
Nihat Kahveci (Turkey) [16]

Assistant referees: [17] [7]
Stefan Wittberg (Sweden)
Henrik Andrén (Sweden)
Fourth official:
Grzegorz Gilewski (Poland)
Reserve assistant referee:
Jan Petter Randen (Norway)

See also

References

  1. Brewin, John (2023-12-02). "Euro 2024 draw: England face Denmark; Scotland meet Germany in opener – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  2. Sanghera, Mandeep (11 June 2008). "Switzerland 1–2 Turkey". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  3. Sanghera, Mandeep (15 June 2008). "Turkey 3–2 Czech R & Switzerland 2–0 Portugal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  4. Ashdown, John (15 June 2008). "Turkey v Czech Republic – as it happened". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Full-time report Switzerland-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of Football European Associations. 7 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "Team Line-ups – Group A – Switzerland-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Reserve officials – EURO 2008". UEFA. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Full-time report Portugal-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 "Team Line-ups – Group A – Portugal-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 27, 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Full-time report Czech Republic-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 "Team Line-ups – Group A – Czech Republic-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  12. 1 2 "Full-time report Switzerland-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 "Team Line-ups – Group A – Switzerland-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  14. 1 2 "Full-time report Switzerland-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  15. 1 2 3 "Team Line-ups – Group A – Switzerland-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  16. 1 2 "Full-time report Turkey-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  17. 1 2 3 "Team Line-ups – Group A – Turkey-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 8, 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2012.