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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

All times Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)

### Switzerland vs Czech Republic[edit]

7 June 2008 (2008-06-07)

18:00

Switzerland | 0–1|  Czech Republic

|
|

| Report |

* Svěrkoš 71'

St. Jakob-Park, Basel

Attendance: 39,730[4]

Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy)

Switzerland[5]

Czech Republic[5]

|

|  |

|

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)[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[edit]

7 June 2008 (2008-06-07)

20:45

Portugal | 2–0|  Turkey

|
|

* Pepe 61'
* Meireles 90+3'

| Report |

Stade de Genève, Geneva

Attendance: 29,106[7]

Referee: Herbert Fandel (Germany)

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 |  |  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)[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[edit]

11 June 2008 (2008-06-11)

18:00

Czech Republic | 1–3|  Portugal

|
|

* Sionko 17'

| Report |

* Deco 8'
* Ronaldo 63'
* Quaresma 90+1'

Stade de Genève, Geneva

Attendance: 29,016[9]

Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)

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 |  |  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)[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[edit]

11 June 2008 (2008-06-11)

20:45

Switzerland | 1–2|  Turkey

|
|

* Yakin 32'

| Report |

* Semih 57'
* Turan 90+2'

St. Jakob-Park, Basel

Attendance: 39,730[11]

Referee: Ľuboš Micheľ (Slovakia)

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 |  |  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)[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[edit]

15 June 2008 (2008-06-15)

20:45

Switzerland | 2–0|  Portugal

|
|

* Yakin 71', 83' (pen.)

| Report |

St. Jakob-Park, Basel

Attendance: 39,730[13]

Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria)

Switzerland[14]

Portugal[14]

|

|  |

|

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)[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[edit]

15 June 2008 (2008-06-15)

20:45

Turkey | 3–2|  Czech Republic

|
|

* Turan 75'
* Nihat 87', 89'

| Report |

* Koller 34'
* Plašil 62'

Stade de Genève, Geneva

Attendance: 29,016[15]

Referee: Peter Fröjdfeldt (Sweden)

Turkey[16]

Czech Republic[16]

|

|  |

|

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[note 1] |  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[edit]

* Czech Republic at the UEFA European Championship
* Portugal at the UEFA European Championship
* Switzerland at the UEFA European Championship
* Turkey at the UEFA European Championship

## Notes[edit]

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

## References[edit]

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[edit]

* UEFA Euro 2008 Group A

* v
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* e

UEFA Euro 2008

Stages|

* Qualification
* Group stage
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* Group C
* Group D
* Knockout phase
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General information|

* Bids
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Official symbols|

* Europass (ball)
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Champions|

Spain

Runners-up|

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Eliminated in the semi-finals|

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Eliminated in the quarter-finals|

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Eliminated in the group stage|

| Group A|

* Czech Republic
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|

Group B|

* Austria
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Group C|

* France
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Group D|

* Greece
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*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template