Euro 08 (Matchday 3)

Matchday 3

Group A
Portugal 0-2 Switzerland

As expected, Scolari fielded a reserve side against the already-eliminated co-hosts. Two late goals by Yakin condemned the Portuguese to their first defeat in this tournament, though it had no effect on Portugal's position at the top of Group A. The Swiss will take plenty of positives from their tournament, and incoming coach Ottmar Hitzfeld will be pleased to note that they did not end up pointless in the group.

Czech Rep. 2-3 Turkey

What a thriller. The Czechs were three minutes away from sealing a quaterfinal spot, and contrived to lose the match in a space of two minutes. Leading 2-0 with 15 minutes remaining, only the foolish would have bet against the Czechs winning the match, but Turkey turned things around with a combination of spirited play, attacking verve and a frazzled Czech defence. Nihat destroyed the Czechs with his brace, but more demoralisingly was Petr Cech's blunder that gifted the Turks with the equaliser. Like all great goalkeepers, Cech had his reputation somewhat tarnished by one horrible mistake that will shadow all his fine saves in this year's Euros. The Turks march on for a last eight encounter against the impressive Croats, who will need to be at their best to overcome the Ottoman warriors.

Group A final standings
Portugal P-3 Pts 6 GD+2
Turkey P-3 Pts 6 GD 0
Czech Rep. P-3 Pts 3 GD-2
Switzerland P-3 Pts 3 GD 0

Group B
Croatia 1-0 Poland

A Klasnic goal put the final nail in Poland's hopes for a quarterfinal berth. In all honesty, the Poles were never quite in the game to harbour serious hopes of winning the match. The Croats took it easy, yet still managed to claim their third win and end up as group winners, ahead of the more fancied Germans.

Austria 0-1 Germany

Ballack's superb freekick in the 49th minute separated these two neighbours. Throughout the match, Germany looked short on creativity, cohesion and penetration. Once again, Gomez failed to impress, even missing an absolute sitter in the first five minutes. Coach Loew's dismissal to the stands seemed to be the only spark the Germans were creating, while Austria did plenty of running, but lacked real firepower. Upon scoring, the Germans still failed to assert their authority over the Austrian side, and saw out the match without really giving the impression that they had improved significantly from the Croatia defeat.

Group B final standings
Croatia P-3 Pts 9 GD+3
Germany P-3 Pts 6 GD+2
Austria P-3 Pts 1 GD-2
Poland P-3 Pts 1 GD-3

Group C
Italy 2-0 France

The match of the round, undoubtedly, in terms of stakes and perhaps the futures of the two coaches. Ribery was taken off within 10 minutes, and the predictable French attack fizzled out. Abidal's red card couldn't have come at a worse time for Les Bleus, though replays clearly show referee Michel justified for dismissing the fullback. Pirlo's emphatic freekick, coupled with an unfortunate deflection from Henry past Coupet, consigned France to an early holiday, while the resurgent Italians can look forward to an intriguing clash with the Spaniards in the final eight.

Netherlands 2-0 Romania

Well, the Dutch kept to their end of the bargain and did not take their feet off the pedals, even though they had nothing to play for having secured first place. The Romanians needed to better the Ita-Fra result, and they fought right to the end. But it was just not meant to be for the team from the Carpathians, and they can hold their heads high as they exit the tournament. The Oranje clockwork rolls on, and they're now the undisputed favourites for the title.

Group C final standings
Netherlands P-3 Pts 9 GD+8
Italy P-3 Pts 4 GD-1
Romania P-3 Pts 2 GD-2
France P-3 Pts 1 GD-5

Group D
Spain 2-1 Greece

Spain maintained their 100% record as they saw off an already-eliminated Greece in a match where the Greeks played better than they did in the first two games, somewhat ironically. Charisteas gave The Hellenes a first half lead, but the Spanish reserves rallied back to score twice. They can now focus on Italy, while the Greeks exit knowing they had had a poor tournament by all standards.

Russia 2-0 Sweden

Sweden started the match needing only a draw, but the Russians had other ideas as they ran out winners in this decider. The only two players in the Russian squad capable of scoring, Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko, did so and send the Swedes tumbling out. The former, returning to the first XI after serving a two match suspension, looked sharp and Russia just might give Netherlands a run for their money when they square up in Basel.

Group D final standings
Spain P-3 Pts 9 GD+5
Russia P-3 Pts 6 GD0
Sweden P-3 Pts 3 GD-1
Greece P-3 Pts 0 GD-4