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

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

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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

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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 stage
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

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Switzerland vs Czech Republic

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Switzerland  0–1  Czech Republic
Report
  • Svěrkoš   71'
Attendance: 39,730[5]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Switzerland[6]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Czech Republic[6]
GK 1 Diego Benaglio
RB 5 Stephan Lichtsteiner   75'
CB 20 Patrick Müller
CB 4 Philippe Senderos
LB 3 Ludovic Magnin   59'
CM 8 Gökhan Inler
CM 15 Gelson Fernandes
RW 19 Valon Behrami   84'
LW 16 Tranquillo Barnetta   90+3'
CF 9 Alexander Frei (c)   46'
CF 11 Marco Streller
Substitutions:
MF 10 Hakan Yakin   46'
FW 22 Johan Vonlanthen   76'   75'
FW 12 Eren Derdiyok   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   87'
CM 3 Jan Polák
RW 7 Libor Sionko   83'
LW 20 Jaroslav Plašil
CF 9 Jan Koller   56'
Substitutions:
FW 10 Václav Svěrkoš   56'
FW 11 Stanislav Vlček   83'
MF 5 Radoslav Kováč   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

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Portugal  2–0  Turkey
Report
Attendance: 29,106[8]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Portugal[9]
 
 
 
 
 
 
Turkey[9]
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   90+2'
LW 11 Simão   83'
CF 21 Nuno Gomes (c)   69'
Substitutions:
FW 19 Nani   69'
MF 6 Raul Meireles   83'
DF 5 Fernando Meira   90+2'
Manager:
  Luiz Felipe Scolari
 
GK 23 Volkan Demirel
RB 22 Hamit Altıntop   76'
CB 2 Servet Çetin
CB 4 Gökhan Zan   51'   55'
LB 3 Hakan Balta
RM 18 Colin Kazim-Richards   4'
CM 5 Emre Belözoğlu (c)
LM 7 Mehmet Aurélio
AM 21 Mevlüt Erdinç   46'
AM 17 Tuncay Şanlı
CF 8 Nihat Kahveci
Substitutions:
DF 20 Sabri Sarıoğlu   73'   46'
DF 15 Emre Aşık   55'
FW 9 Semih Şentürk   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

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Czech Republic  1–3  Portugal
Report
Attendance: 29,016[10]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Czech Republic[11]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Portugal[11]
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   73'
CM 17 Marek Matějovský   68'
CM 3 Jan Polák   22'
RW 7 Libor Sionko
LW 20 Jaroslav Plašil   84'
CF 15 Milan Baroš
Substitutions:
FW 11 Stanislav Vlček   68'
FW 9 Jan Koller   73'
MF 14 David Jarolím   84'
Manager:
Karel Brückner
 
GK 1 Ricardo
RB 4 José Bosingwa   31'
CB 15 Pepe
CB 16 Ricardo Carvalho
LB 2 Paulo Ferreira
CM 8 Petit
CM 10 João Moutinho   75'
RW 7 Cristiano Ronaldo
AM 20 Deco
LW 11 Simão   80'
CF 21 Nuno Gomes (c)   79'
Substitutions:
DF 5 Fernando Meira   75'
FW 9 Hugo Almeida   79'
MF 17 Ricardo Quaresma   80'
Manager:
  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

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Switzerland  1–2  Turkey
Report
Attendance: 39,730[12]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Switzerland[13]
 
 
 
 
 
 
Turkey[13]
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   76'
LM 16 Tranquillo Barnetta   66'
SS 10 Hakan Yakin   85'
CF 12 Eren Derdiyok   55'
Substitutions:
FW 22 Johan Vonlanthen   66'
MF 7 Ricardo Cabanas   76'
FW 14 Daniel Gygax   85'
Manager:
Köbi Kuhn
 
GK 23 Volkan Demirel
RB 22 Hamit Altıntop
CB 15 Emre Aşık
CB 2 Servet Çetin
LB 3 Hakan Balta   48'
DM 7 Mehmet Aurélio   41'
RM 10 Gökdeniz Karadeniz   46'
LM 14 Arda Turan
AM 11 Tümer Metin   46'
CF 8 Nihat Kahveci (c)   85'
CF 17 Tuncay Şanlı   31'
Substitutions:
MF 6 Mehmet Topal   46'
FW 9 Semih Şentürk   46'
FW 18 Colin Kazim-Richards   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

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

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

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References

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  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. ^ a b "Full-time report Switzerland-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of Football European Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Switzerland-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Reserve officials – EURO 2008". UEFA. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Full-time report Portugal-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  9. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Portugal-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Full-time report Czech Republic-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  11. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Czech Republic-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  12. ^ a b "Full-time report Switzerland-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  13. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Switzerland-Turkey" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  14. ^ a b "Full-time report Switzerland-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  15. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Switzerland-Portugal" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  16. ^ a b "Full-time report Turkey-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  17. ^ a b c "Team Line-ups – Group A – Turkey-Czech Republic" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
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