UEFA Euro 2008 Group A
# 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. 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. 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. 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 | UEFA Rankings | FIFA Rankings June 2008 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance | November 2007 | May 2008 | FIFA Rankings June 2008 |
| A1 | Switzerland | 1 | Co-host | 12 December 2002 | 3rd | 2004 | Group stage (1996, 2004) | 19 | 16 | 44 |
| A2 | Czech Republic | 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

* ↑ The UEFA rankings of November 2007 were used for seeding for the final draw.
* ↑ UEFA unveiled a new ranking system in May 2008 based on results up to November 2007.
* ↑ 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 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 2 | Turkey | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 3 | Czech Republic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Switzerland (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |

* 1 2 Head-to-head result: Portugal 2–0 Turkey.
* 1 2 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

### Switzerland vs Czech Republic

| Switzerland | Czech Republic |
| - | - |
| 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)
* Assistant referees:
* Alessandro Griselli (Italy)
* Paolo Calcagno (Italy)
* Fourth official:
* Stéphane Lannoy (France)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Alex Verstraeten (Belgium)

### Portugal vs Turkey

| Portugal | Turkey |
| - | - |
| 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)
* Assistant referees:
* Carsten Kadach (Germany)
* Volker Wezel (Germany)
* Fourth official:
* Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Peter Hermans (Belgium)

### Czech Republic vs Portugal

| Czech Republic | Portugal |
| - | - |
| 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)
* Assistant referees:
* Dimitrios Bozatzidis (Greece)
* Dimitrios Saraidaris (Greece)
* Fourth official:
* Kristinn Jakobsson (Iceland)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Adriaan Inia (Netherlands)

### Switzerland vs Turkey

| Switzerland | Turkey |
| - | - |
| 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)
* Assistant referees:
* Roman Slyško (Slovakia)
* Martin Balko (Slovakia)
* Fourth official:
* Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Hans ten Hoove (Netherlands)

### Switzerland vs Portugal

| Switzerland | Portugal |
| - | - |
| 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)
* Assistant referees:
* Egon Bereuter (Austria)
* Markus Mayr (Austria)
* Fourth official:
* Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Geir Åge Holen (Norway)

### Turkey vs Czech Republic

| Turkey | Czech Republic |
| - | - |
| 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)
* Assistant referees:
* Stefan Wittberg (Sweden)
* Henrik Andrén (Sweden)
* Fourth official:
* Grzegorz Gilewski (Poland)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Jan Petter Randen (Norway)
