Germany Profile Team qualifying in UEFA EURO 2008™? perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup? perform in UEFA EURO 2004™? best performance in the UEFA European Championship? Key facts All-time record Source : uefa.com
• Germany were the first side to secure qualification for the finals with a 0-0 draw in the Republic of Ireland on 13 October 2007, although a couple of aberrations took some of the gloss off a generally impressive campaign by Joachim Löw's side.
• Germany broke the record for the biggest ever UEFA European Championship win, beating San Marino 13-0 away on 6 September 2006, with Lukas Podolski scoring four goals – only the second German player after Gerd Müller put four past Albania in 1967 to manage that feat.
• They were held to a surprising 1-1 draw by Cyprus in Nicosia on 15 November, but made amends in their next game, beating Czech Republic, the eventual Group D winners, 2-1 in Prague through two Kevin Kuranyi goals.
• They met the Czechs again after they had secured qualification, but left the pitch to catcalls after losing 3-0 in Munich – a result which saw Karel Brückner's visitors through to the finals.
• They finished second in their group after a 0-0 draw against Wales in their final qualifier.
• Germany did not feature in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification round as they were the hosts of the final tournament.
• Germany won all three of their games in the group stage of the finals against Costa Rica (4-2), Poland (1-0) and Ecuador (3-0).
• In the knockout phase they progressed to the semi-finals with victories against Sweden (2-0) and Argentina (4-2 on penalties after the match had ended 1-1).
• The hosts were then eliminated by Italy (2-0) but did finish third after a 3-1 win against Portugal.
• Striker Miroslav Klose ended the tournament as leading scorer, winning the Golden Shoe with five goals.
• Germany were involved in the finals for the ninth successive time, qualifying for the eighth successive occasion having hosted the final tournament in 1988. In those eight qualifications, they have finished top of their qualification round group every time.
• In qualifying for UEFA EURO 2004™, Germany won five and drew their remaining three matches to finish four points clear of Scotland. Nevertheless, their only comprehensive victory came in their final match, a 3-0 defeat of Iceland in Hamburg with Michael Ballack (9), Fredi Bobic (60) and Kevin Kuranyi (79) on target.
• Two two-goal victories were recorded home and away against the Faroe Islands, with their other successes coming away against Lithuania (2-0) and at home against Scotland (2-1).
• In their three draws at home against Lithuania (1-1), away against Scotland (1-1) and away against Iceland (0-0), Germany never trailed.
• But their performance in the final tournament disappointed with only two points from three group stage outings. Draws were recorded against the Netherlands (1-1) and Latvia (0-0) before Germany exited the competition following their 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Czech Republic in a repeat of the UEFA EURO '96™ final.
• Germany have won the competition once since reunification (1996) but three times overall having earlier won the competition in 1972 and 1980 as West Germany. The Czech Republic were defeated in the 1996 final at Wembley, Oliver Bierhoff scoring the golden goal winner five minutes into extra-time after having earlier scored their equaliser 17 minutes from time. Patrik Berger had given the Czechs a 59th-minute lead from the penalty spot.
• Germany advanced from the group stage with defeats of the Czech Republic (2-0) and Russia (3-0) before holding Italy to a scoreless draw. Their reward was a quarter-final match against Croatia which Germany won 2-1 before they defeated England in the semis on penalties after the match ended 1-1 after extra-time.
• Germany have not won a match in the final tournament of a UEFA European Championship since winning the competition in 1996. Since then, Germany have played six matches, drawing three and losing three with three goals scored and eight conceded.
• Germany lead the way with three tournament victories to date. In 1972 and 1980, they won the competition as West Germany, but their 1996 success came after reunification. France are the only other country to have won the competition more than once following successes in 1984 and 2000.
• Up until the end of qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™, Germany had appeared in the UEFA European Championship on eleven occasions, and had played 110 matches. In that time, they won 67, drawn 29 and lost 14 of those fixtures with 224 goals scored and 77 conceded.
Labels: Team Profile
Italy Profile Team qualifying in UEFA EURO 2008™? perform in UEFA EURO 2004™? best performance in the UEFA European Championship? Key facts All-time record Source : uefa.com
• Replacing Marcello Lippi after Italy's success at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, coach Roberto Donadoni made a shaky start in qualifying but his team eventually did enough qualify as Group B winners.
• A 1-1 home draw with Lithuania in their opening tie in Naples was a shock, but perhaps not as big a setback as the 3-1 defeat in France in their second qualifier, when Raymond Domenech's side avenged their defeat on penalties in the World Cup final.
• That would prove the only reverse the Azzurri suffered and Luca Toni's two goals in a 2-0 win at home against Scotland in March 2007 provided an important reminder of the world champions' credentials.
• Italy won nine of their last ten qualifiers but were denied revenge against France with a goalless draw in Milan.
• They eventually secured qualification both for themselves and France by beating Scotland 2-1 in Glasgow thanks to another goal from Toni and an added-time winner from defender Christian Panucci.
• A 3-1 win against the Faroe Islands in their final fixture earned them top spot in the section at France's expense.
perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Eventual winners Italy won their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification round group with seven wins and two draws from their ten engagements. In that time, they scored 17 goals and conceded eight.
• Their only blip came away against Slovenia in their third match in the competition. Having narrowly won their first two games at home against Norway (2-1) and away against Moldova (1-0), Italy succumbed to Boštjan Cesar's 82nd-minute goal for Slovenia in their meeting at Celje on 9 October 2004.
• The Italians bounced back with home victories against Belarus (4-3) and Scotland (2-0) before protecting their lead in the standings with away draws in Oslo against Norway (0-0) and later in Glasgow against Scotland (1-1), although they required a Fabio Grosso goal 15 minutes from time to make their point at Hampden Park.
• Belarus were defeated 4-1 in Minsk with Luca Toni (6, 13, 55) scoring a hat-trick before the Italians rounded off their campaign with two home victories against Slovenia (1-0) and Moldova (2-1). Those two successes also provided Italy with five wins from five on home soil in the qualifying round.
• Italy claimed their fourth World Cup triumph after going undefeated in their seven games at the finals in Germany.
• After group games against Ghana (2-0), the United States (1-1) and the Czech Republic (2-0) they progressed to the last four with wins against Australia (1-0) and Ukraine (3-0).
• An extra-time victory over hosts Germany (2-0) was followed by a 5-3 penalty win in the final against France after the game in Berlin had finished 1-1.
• Italy won their five-team qualification round group by four points from Wales having won five and drawn two of their eight matches in the competition. But their time at the UEFA EURO 2004™ finals lasted only three matches as they finished in third place in their group behind both Sweden and Denmark despite remaining unbeaten.
• The Italians only defeat in the entire competition came in their third match of the qualifying round when they lost 2-1 away against Wales on 16 October 2002. Simon Davies opened the scoring for the home side after eleven minutes, and though Alessandro Del Piero equalised for the visitors shortly after the half-hour mark, Wales prevailed thanks to Craig Bellamy's 70th-minute winner.
• Italy won two of their home matches by four-goal margins, firstly avenging their loss to Wales (4-0) before defeating Azerbaijan by the same scoreline. A second half hat-trick from Filippo Inzaghi (58, 62 and 69) unhinged the Welsh, and he added two more goals after 23 and 86 minutes to help defeat the Azeris.
• But Italy's UEFA EURO 2004™ finals involvement proved unsuccessful despite draws against Denmark (0-0), Sweden (1-1) and a 2-1 victory against Bulgaria in their last match, a game in which they fought back from a one-goal interval deficit to win thanks to strikes from Simone Perrotta (48) and Antonio Cassano (90+4). However, their goal difference was weaker in comparison to their two Nordic rivals who also finished the group stage with five points while Bulgaria propped up the standings, pointless from their three games in the competition.
• Italy won the 1968 UEFA European Championship, defeating Yugoslavia 2-0 in a final replay after the two sides had shared a 1-1 draw at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Italy forced a replay when Angelo Domenghini's 80th-minute goal cancelled out Dragan Dzajić's opener after 39 minutes. The tournament hosts made no mistake in the replay played two days later as first-half goals from Luigi Riva (12) and Pietro Anastasi (31) sealed a 2-0 win.
• Italy have qualified for the last four UEFA European Championship final tournaments.
• Up until the end of qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™, Italy had appeared in the UEFA European Championship on twelve occasions, and had played 111 matches. In that time, they won 59, drew 35 and lost 17 of those fixtures with 175 goals scored and 77 conceded.
Labels: Team Profile
Netherlands Profile Team qualifying in UEFA EURO 2008™? perform in UEFA EURO 2004™? best performance in the UEFA European Football Championship? Key facts All-time record Source : uefa.com
• The Netherlands rarely looked in trouble in Group G and qualified with a game to spare.
• Romania proved to be the Netherlands' most serious rivals, holding them to a 0-0 draw in Rotterdam and then progressing to the finals with a 1-0 win against Marco van Basten's side in challenging conditions in Constanta.
• Qualification was assured with a 1-0 home win against Luxembourg. The minnows withstood a Dutch onslaught but went down to a solitary Danny Koevermans goal.
• They finished second in the section after an unexpected 2-1 defeat in Belarus in their final qualifier.
• Besides qualification for Austria and Switzerland, another major positive from the Dutch campaign was the opportunity given the stars of their 2006 and 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship winning squads to impress at senior level.
perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Controlled their group in the qualifying round phase of the 2006 FIFA World Cup by winning ten and drawing two of their 12 outings in the competition. Topped the group standings by five points from the Czech Republic with Romania a further two points behind in third.
• Their 32 points from 12 matches provided the highest points per match haul in the competition (2.67 points per match – England and Portugal were tied for second with 2.5 points per match).
• The Dutch progressed through a difficult group at the finals after meeting Serbia and Montenegro (1-0), Ivory Coast (2-1) and Argentina (0-0).
• Their tournament ended in the second round though after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Portugal in a game that saw both sides finish with nine men.
• Having finished as runners-up to the Czech Republic in the qualifying round, the Netherlands defeated Scotland 6-1 on aggregate to book their place in the final tournament in Portugal. In the group stage, the Dutch played second fiddle to the Czechs once more, but advanced to the knockout stages where they overcame Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals before losing 2-1 to Portugal in the semis.
• The Netherlands won the competition in 1988, their only appearance in the final to date. They defeated the Soviet Union 2-0 at Munich's Olympiastadion on 25 June 1988 thanks to goals from Ruud Gullit (32 minutes) and current coach Marco van Basten (54).
• The Dutch have also appeared in four additional semi-finals (2004, 2000, 1992 and 1976) and one additional quarter-final (1996).
• The Dutch have qualified for the last five UEFA European Championship final tournaments.
• Up until the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying, the Netherlands had played 117 matches in the UEFA European Championship. Their record read: 72 wins, 22 draws and 23 losses with 241 goals scored and 91 conceded.
• The Dutch did not participate in the 1960 UEFA European Championship.
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Poland Profile Team qualifying in UEFA EURO 2008™? perform in UEFA EURO 2004™? best performance in the UEFA European Championship? Key facts All-time record Source : uefa.com
• Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker led Poland to their first ever UEFA European Championship finals, with nine-goal striker Euzebiusz Smolarek securing their qualification with a game to spare when he struck both goals in a 2-0 home win over Belgium.
• A 3-1 home defeat by Finland in their opening game in Group A – the only section to contain eight teams, rather than seven – was a shock and when a 1-1 draw against Serbia followed, things looked grim.
• They found the perfect response, however, by embarking on six-game winning run that included a 2-1 victory over Portugal, Smolarek registering twice.
• A 1-0 defeat in Armenia threw a spanner in the works, but Poland recovered. A late Jacek Krzynówek goal earned them a 2-2 draw in Portugal and after taking another point in Finland, they completed the job with wins against Kazakhstan and Belgium.
• The Poles secured first place in Group A by holding Serbia to a 2-2 draw in their final qualifier in Belgrade – a result that ended their hosts' hopes of qualifying.
perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Two defeats against England denied Poland top spot in their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification round group, but they advanced as one of the strongest runners-up having won the remainder of their ten engagements.
• Poland recorded home and away victories against Austria, Azerbaijan, Northern Ireland and Wales in finishing second to England. Their most notable win was their 8-0 home defeat of the Azeris on 26 March 2005 with Tomasz Frankowski (12, 63 and 66) scoring a hat-trick.
• Their first 2-1 defeat against England came at home in their second outing in the competition on 8 September 2004 in Chorzow.
• By the time the two sides met in their final match, they were both guaranteed a place in the finals. A Polish draw at Old Trafford would have given them group honours after England had lost away to Northern Ireland, but the home side prevailed 2-1.
• Poland were eliminated at the first stage of the finals following 2-0 and 1-0 defeats in group games against Ecuador and Germany respectively before a 2-1 triumph against Costa Rica.
• Finishing third in their section, Poland's only goals in Germany were scored by Bartosz Bosacki in their final game.
• Although they had appeared at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals, Poland again struggled in their subsequent UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign, finishing third in their group behind Portugal-bound Sweden and Latvia. The Swedes topped the five-team group with 17 points from their eight matches, one point ahead of Latvia and four clear of Poland.
• The Poles recorded four wins and a draw from their eight matches to end two points clear of Hungary. San Marino propped up the standings with no goals scored and no points to show from their campaign.
• Their home form proved to be their undoing as they lost at home to Latvia (0-1) and Sweden (0-2) as well being held to a scoreless draw by Hungary. All of their goals on home soil came in their 5-0 defeat of San Marino in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski with Marcin Kuzba (54, 90+3) scoring twice.
• Poland won their final two games away against Latvia (2-0) and Hungary (2-1), but by then it was too late to salvage at least a second-placed finish.
• Prior to securing their first qualification this time around, Poland's best campaign saw them come close to qualifying for the 1980 UEFA European Championship final round in Italy, finishing one point behind the Netherlands in their qualifying round group.
• The number 13 proved to be a luck one for Poland as they secured their first UEFA European Championship final round appearance at the 13th attempt in for UEFA EURO 2008™.
• Up until the end of qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™, Poland had appeared in all 13 UEFA European Championship qualifying competitions, and had played 90 matches. In that time, they had won 38, drawn 24 and lost 28 of those fixtures with 131 goals scored and 100 conceded.
Labels: Team Profile
Croatia Profile Team qualifying in UEFA EURO 2008™? perform in UEFA EURO 2004™? best performance in the UEFA European Championship? Key facts All-time record Source : uefa.com
• The most consistent performers in a competitive Group E, Croatia qualified with a game to spare thanks to Russia's defeat in Israel – news of which filtered through to the team halfway through their 2-0 defeat in F.Y.R. Macedonia.
• It was the only defeat suffered by Croatia during an impressive first campaign under former international defender Slaven Bilić.
• They began with a useful 0-0 draw in Russia and took off the next month with a 7-0 win against Andorra, Mladen Petrić's four goals helping Croatia equal their previous record win,7-0 against Australia in 1998.
• Four days later, on 11 October 2006, Croatia got an even better result, 2-0 at home against England.
• Having scored against England, Brazilian-born striker Eduardo da Silva netted a hat-trick as Croatia won 4-3 in Israel in their next game.
• With ten goals overall, Eduardo finished as the second top scorer in qualifying behind Northern Ireland's David Healy.
• Croatia saved the best for last, their 3-2 win against England at Wembley on 21 November 2007 confirming first place in the section and ending their hosts' hopes of qualifying. "We are good – very good," said Bilić.
perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Croatia topped their group with seven wins and three draws from their ten 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Although Sweden also finished with the same points total, the Croatians held the stronger record in direct matches involving the two group principals. In total, Croatia scored 21 times with five goals conceded.
• Their key victory came in their second match in the qualifying competition. Having dismissed Hungary's challenge with a 3-0 win in Zagreb in their opener after opposing defender Szabolcs Huszti was dismissed after eleven minutes, Croatia won in Sweden thanks to Darijo Srna's 64th-minute free-kick.
• Although Croatia would be held to draws at home against Bulgaria (2-2) and away against Malta (1-1), they won the return matches against those opponents as well as defeating Iceland home and away.
• This set up their crucial second meeting with Sweden in Zagreb in their penultimate fixture, a match the Croatians won thanks to Srna's 56th-minute penalty. Their final fixture ended in a scoreless draw away against Hungary, enough to confirm their first-place finish.
• Croatia lost 1-0 to Brazil before 0-0 and 2-2 draws against Japan and Australia respectively in the group stage of the finals.
• Josip Šimunić and Dario Šimić were both sent-off in Croatia's final game against Australia as they went out of the tournament at the first hurdle.
• Croatia advanced to the UEFA EURO 2004™ final tournament via the play-offs after finishing second to Bulgaria in the qualification phase. With five victories and a draw from their eight matches, the Croatians trailed the group winners by a point, but finished ahead of Belgium due to their superior goal difference in the direct matches between the two teams.
• It was in their first match against Belgium, their third in the qualifying campaign, that the Croatians finally found their feet. Having opened the competition with a scoreless home draw against Estonia, the Croatians were then on the receiving end of a 2-0 defeat away against Bulgaria. Belgium then bore the full brunt of Croatian wrath in Zagreb as the home side ran out 4-0 winners thanks to goals from Srna (9), Dado Pršo (55), Tomislav Marić (70) and Jerko Leko (76).
• They would not concede a goal for 448 consecutive minutes before a brace from Wesley Sonck (35, 43) in Brussels helped Belgium to avenge their earlier defeat with Marco Rapaic (37) scoring Croatia's goal.
• The Croatians then held their nerve in their final game, defeating the already-qualified Bulgaria thanks to Ivica Olić's 48th-minute goal at Zagreb's Maksimir stadium.
• Their reward was a two-legged play-off against Slovenia, the Croatians winning 2-1 on aggregate, despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home in the opening leg. They took the lead through Pršo after five minutes only for Ermin Siljak to equalise midway through the half. But Croatia would go on to stun Slovenia in Ljubljana, Pršo scoring the only goal of the game shortly after the hour mark.
• Croatia failed to advance beyond the group stage in Portugal, recording two draws and a defeat from their three outings. Those draws came in their opening two engagements against Switzerland (0-0) and France (2-2) before they were outgunned by England (4-2) in their last match.
• Croatia's best performance to date came in their first involvement in the competition. Having topped their qualification round group for UEFA EURO '96™ with 23 points from ten games, the Croatians were pitched against Denmark, Portugal and Turkey in the final tournament group phase. Opening with two victories against Turkey (1-0) and Denmark (3-0), the Croatians qualification for the knockout phase was guaranteed prior to their 3-0 defeat against Portugal in their last match. Facing eventual winners, Germany, in the quarter-final phase, the Croatians exited following a 2-1 defeat.
• Croatia have missed only one UEFA European Championship final tournament since independence, missing out on a trip to UEFA EURO 2000™.
• Up until the end of qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™, Croatia had appeared in the UEFA European Championship on four occasions, and had played 47 matches. In that time, they had won 28, drawn eleven and lost eight with 86 goals scored and 38 conceded.
Labels: Team Profile
How preparations going for UEFA EURO 2008™? Source : uefa.com
• With only friendly games to prepare themselves for co-hosting the finals, Austria have endured some tough times.
• Charged with the task of building a new Austria side for 2008, coach Josef Hickersberger knew the process was likely to be a painful one, saying: "It goes without saying that this process means facing and overcoming obstacles and setbacks."
• Hickersberger lost his first three games in charge before a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica in September 2006 helped ease the pressure. He finally earned a first win at the fifth attempt, 2-1 against Liechtenstein thanks to a late Thomas Prager goal, and followed that up with a 2-1 victory against fellow hosts Switzerland.
• René Aufhauser struck a hat-trick in a 4-1 success against Trinidad & Tobago in October 2006, but it was to be another year – and another ten games – before Austria won again, beating Ivory Coast 3-2 in Innsbruck.
• Hickersberger continues to blood young talent, and said: "I'm convinced we will see a very different national team at the European Championship. Both Austria and Switzerland will be excellent hosts. They will put on a sensational tournament and I am convinced that both teams will reach the quarter-finals."
perform in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying?
• A third-placed finish in Group 6 meant Austria missed out on their second successive FIFA World Cup finals, having last appeared at the 1998 event in France.
• Hans Krankl's Austria made a bright start, holding section favourites England to a 2-2 draw in Vienna, after two goals in four minutes from Roland Kollman and Andreas Ivanschitz cancelled out efforts from Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.
• However, a 3-1 home defeat by Poland in their fourth game was a disappointment from which they never quite recovered.
• A second defeat against Poland ended any realistic hopes of qualification, and Krankl resigned with two qualifiers still to play, angry at the news that he was to be replaced by Hickersberger - then coach of SK Rapid Wien.
• Austria subsequently lost 1-0 in England and beat Northern Ireland 2-0 at home.
perform in UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying?
• The Czech Republic and the Netherlands proved too strong for Austria as they finished third in Group 3, well out of the qualifying picture.
• Successive 2-0 wins in their opening qualifiers against Moldova and Belarus augured well, but a 3-0 home defeat against the Dutch followed by a 4-0 mauling in the Czech Republic represented the writing on the wall.
• Both the section's big names would inflict further defeats on Krankl's side before the end of the campaign, and to add insult to injury, Austria also lost 1-0 in Moldova.
best performance in the UEFA European Championship?
• Austria have never qualified for a UEFA European Championship final tournament, and so will be playing in the finals for the first time when they co-host UEFA EURO 2008™. They came within one round of the four-team final tournament of the inaugural 1960 competition, but lost 9-4 on aggregate to France in the quarter-finals.
Key facts
• Austria will be one of two first-time contenders at the UEFA European Championship finals along with Poland. However, they have played at seven FIFA World Cup final tournaments.
All-time record
• Going into the finals of UEFA EURO 2008™, their record in the tournament was 80 matches played, with 33 wins, 13 draws and 34 defeats, and 146 goals scored and 125 conceded.
Labels: Team Profile
perform in qualifying UEFA EURO 2008™? perform in UEFA EURO 2004™? best performance in the UEFA European Championship? Key facts All-time record Source : uefa.com
• Turkey finished second in Group C behind European champions Greece, but made heavy work of qualifying after a stirring start.
• Fatih Terim's team won their first three games without conceding a single goal, Hakan Şükür celebrating his 50th international goal when he struck four in the third of those wins, 5-0 win against Moldova.
• Things got even better when an under-strength Turkey side came from behind to beat Greece 4-1 in Athens in their first qualifier of 2007.
• They then lost their way, however, with a run of one win in six that included a 3-2 defeat in Bosnia-Herzegovina and then a humiliating 2-2 draw in Malta, where Turkey came from behind twice.
• Crisis talk intensified in October 2007 when a 1-1 draw in Moldova was followed by a 1-0 home defeat against Greece, which saw the European champions celebrate qualification in Istanbul.
• Having slipped to third in the section, Turkey reclaimed the initiative with a 2-1 win in Oslo in their penultimate qualifier. A 1-0 home victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in their final qualifier kept them a point above Norway in second place.
perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification round?
• Turkey finished second, two points behind Ukraine, in their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification round group having won six and drawn five of their twelve matches in the competition. It proved sufficient to provide Turkey with a place in the play-offs, but they lost out on away goals to Switzerland after the sides shared eight goals in their two meetings.
• In a group that featured UEFA EURO 2004™ winners, Greece, as well as Denmark, who also competed in the group stage in Portugal, Turkey's campaign got off to a sluggish start as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Georgia in Trabzon.
• They responded with disciplined away draws in Greece (0-0) and Denmark (1-1) and defeated Kazakhstan (4-0) only to then suffer a 3-0 defeat at home against the Ukrainians with Andriy Shevchenko (17, 88) scoring twice.
• It was to be Turkey's only defeat in the qualifying round, and though they would avenge their loss to the Ukrainians with a 1-0 victory in Kiev thanks to Tümer Metin's 55th-minute goal, home draws against both Greece and Denmark ultimately ruined their chance of taking top spot in the group.
• Other victories were recorded against Albania (home and away) and Georgia (away), with their biggest win coming in a 6-0 away defeat of Kazakhstan on 8 June 2005 with Fatih Tekke (13, 85) and Tuncay Şanli (41, 90) helping themselves to two goals apiece.
• Turkey's UEFA EURO 2004™ adventure fell at the final hurdle as they lost out in the play-offs to Latvia after having finished second in their qualification round group to England. With six wins, a draw and one defeat, Turkey ended one point behind the undefeated English with Slovakia a further nine points in arrears.
• England proved to be Turkey's nemesis in the qualifying round. Having defeated Slovakia, F.Y.R. Macedonia and Liechtenstein home and away, the Turkish lost away against England in their fourth match of the campaign despite holding their hosts goalless for 75 minutes. Darius Vassell finally broke the deadlock at Sunderland's Stadium of Light before David Beckham added a second from the penalty spot two minutes into stoppage time. The two sides met again in the final match of the qualification round in Istanbul, but Turkey could not penetrate the English defence and were forced to settle for second place as the game ended goalless.
• But a further unpleasant surprise lay in wait for Turkey as Latvia won the two-legged play-off. The Latvians took a one-goal lead into their second leg meeting following Maris Verpakovskis' 12th-minute goal in Riga, and though goals from Ilhan Mansiz (20) and Hakan Sükür (64) put Turkey in the driving seat at Istanbul's Inönü stadium, the visitors hit back through Jurijs Laizans (65) and Verpakovskis (76) to book their ticket to Portugal.
• Turkey first participated in a UEFA European Championship final round at UEFA EURO '96™, losing all three of their group matches, but they returned four years later and advanced as far as the quarter-finals, their best effort to date in the competition.
• Finishing second in their qualifying group, Turkey defeated the Republic of Ireland on away goals in their subsequent play-off to book their place at UEFA EURO 2000™. Drawn in a group featuring Belgium, Italy and Sweden, Turkey took four points from their three games, defeating the tournament hosts 2-0 in their final game with two goals from Hakan Sükür (45, 70). Their reward was a quarter-final berth, but Turkey were defeated 2-0 by Portugal.
• Despite playing in all 13 UEFA European Championship qualifying rounds, Turkey's first participation in a final tournament took place at UEFA EURO '96™.
• Turkey have appeared in all 13 UEFA European Championship qualifying competitions. Prior to the finals of UEFA EURO 2008™, they have played 95 matches. In that time, they had won 35, drawn 22 and lost 38 of those fixtures with 110 goals scored and 135 conceded.
Labels: Team Profile
perform in qualifying UEFA EURO 2008™? perform in UEFA EURO 2004™? best performance in the UEFA European Championship? Key facts All-time record Source uefa.com
• Portugal lost only one game in Group A, the only section with eight teams, but had to endure a nervous finale before claiming their place in the finals as runners-up to Poland.
• After clinging on for a 1-1 draw with Finland with ten men in their opening game, Portugal won 3-0 against Azerbaijan but then lost 2-1 in Poland.
• Progress was to be sporadic thereafter, despite winger Cristiano Ronaldo contributing eight goals. Portugal dropped some unexpected points, drawing 1-1 home and away against Serbia, 2-2 at home against Poland and – worst of all – 1-1 away against a surprisingly troublesome Armenia.
• Incidents following the 1-1 home draw with Serbia led coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to be banned from the touchline for three games, but Portugal won all three matches with his assistant Flávio Teixeira on the bench, meaning they needed only to avoid defeat in their final game against Finland in Porto to progress.
• With Finland knowing a win would likely see them qualify in Portugal's place, it was a tense affair, but a 0-0 draw sufficed for the home side, with Scolari saying: "I know we have to improve for the finals."
perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Advanced to their second successive FIFA World Cup finals by topping the standings in their qualifying round group ahead of Slovakia and Russia.
• Won nine and drew three of their 12 games in the qualifiers, winning all of their six games on home soil with 24 goals scored and two conceded.
• With 30 points from 12 outings, Portugal finished joint second with England (25 points from 10 matches) in terms of their average points per match ratio – 2.5 – with the Netherlands posting the best match average (2.67).
• Portugal enjoyed a successful campaign at the finals in Germany, finishing the tournament in fourth position.
• Group victories against Angola (1-0), Iran (2-0) and Mexico (2-1) were followed by the 1-0 second-round defeat of the Netherlands.
• Portugal made it to the semi-finals after a 3-1 penalty win against England but had their path halted by a 1-0 loss to France, before losing 3-1 in the third-place play-off to Germany.
• Beaten finalists, having also hosted the event. Portugal lost their opening and closing matches to Greece but won all their other matches in between.
• Bounced back from their opening match loss to Greece to defeat Russia (2-0) and Spain (1-0) to top the group standings. Overcame England in the quarter-finals on penalties after the sides shared a 2-2 draw and then beat the Netherlands 2-1 to claim their place in the final.
• Greek striker Angelos Charisteas' 57th-minute goal separated the sides at the Estádio da Luz in the final as Portugal failed to follow the example of Spain (1964), Italy (1968) and France (1984) in winning the competition on home soil.
• Portugal's best performance to date in the competition came in 2004 when they lost in the final to Greece. Prior to that, Portugal had appeared in two semi-finals where they lost on both occasions to France.
• The two sides met in 1984 where France won 3-2 in an extra-time thriller at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille before defeating Spain in the final.
• Sixteen years later, on this occasion at Brussels' Roi Baudouin stadium, France prevailed 2-1 against Portugal, again after extra time, before defeating Italy in the final four days later.
• Portugal have qaualified for the last four UEFA European Championship final tournaments having first qualified for the finals in 1984.
• Up until the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying, Portugal had played 108 matches in their 13 participations in the UEFA European Championship, winning 58, drawing 26 and losing 24 with 183 goals scored and 98 conceded.
• Portugal's record victories to date in the competition have come via two 8-0 defeats of Liechtenstein on 18 December 1994 and 9 June 1999. The latter match saw both João Pinto and Sá Pinto scoring hat-tricks.
• Their record defeats in the competition have come courtesy of 5-0 away defeats at the hands of Czechoslovakia (30 April 1975) and the Soviet Union (27 April 1983).
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Qualifying UEFA EURO 2008™ perform in UEFA EURO 2004™? best performance in the UEFA European Championship? Key facts All-time record
• With Group D settling quickly into a two-horse race between Germany and the Czech Republic, Karel Brückner's side never looked unlikely to qualify, but finished the job in some style.
• The two frontrunners met for the first time in Prague on 24 March 2007, when two goals from Kevin Kuranyi rendered Milan Baroš's 77th-minute effort redundant and sent Joachim Löw's side three points clear at the top of the section.
• The Czechs held their nerve in subsequent games, however, and spoiled Germany's qualification celebrations by beating their neighbours 3-0 in Munich on 17 October 2007 to seal their place in the finals with two games to spare.
• Victory was all the sweeter for having been achieved without a number of top players. Libor Sionko, Marek Matějovský and Jaroslav Plašil scored the goals that silenced the Bavarian crowd and centre-back David Rozehnal said: "Qualifying is nice but the way we did it is even better."
• They went on to win the group with a 2-0 triumph in Cyprus in their final qualifier.
perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Finished five points behind runaway group winners the Netherlands in qualifying group action for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but one point ahead of third-placed Romania. Advanced to one of the three play-off fixtures where they overcame Norway 2-0 on aggregate, winning both legs by the minimum margin.
• Won their opening five home matches in qualifying before losing 2-0 in Prague to the Netherlands in their penultimate fixture in the competition, a result that decided the fate of group honours.
• One of those victories included an 8-1 defeat of Andorra, to date the Czechs widest margin of victory in a competitive international.
• Got off to a fine start at the finals with a 3-0 victory against the United States in their opening group game.
• Defeats by Ghana and Italy, both 2-0, in their remaining games meant the Czechs, who suffered several injuries in Germany, were eliminated in the opening stage.
• Eliminated at the semi-final stage of the competition by eventual winners, Greece. The only goal of the game after 105 minutes from Greek defender Traianos Dellas, a silver goal which gave the Czechs virtually no time to muster a response.
• Earlier in the competition, the Czechs accounted for Denmark (3-0) in the quarter-finals after earlier winning all of their three engagements in the group stage against Latvia (2-1), the Netherlands (3-2) and Germany (2-1).
• They topped their group in qualifying round action with seven wins and a draw from eight matches to finish three points clear of the Netherlands with Austria a further ten points in arrears in third position.
• All four home matches ended in victory by an aggregate margin of 14 goals scored with only one conceded. Away from home, the Czechs dropped their only points of the campaign in Rotterdam when they shared a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.
• The golden goal made its debut in senior international competition at UEFA EURO '96™ and accounted for the Czech Republic in the final of the tournament when Oliver Bierhoff scored the winning goal five minutes into extra time after the sides remained deadlocked at 1-1 after 90 minutes. The Czechs had earlier defeated France and Portugal in the knockout phase of the competition after finishing second to Germany in the group stage at the expense of Italy and Russia.
• As part of the former state of Czechoslovakia, Czech players were involved in winning the 1976 UEFA European Championship against the Federal Republic of Germany. The final ended in a 2-2 stalemate in Belgrade before the Czechoslovak side won 5-3 on penalties with Antonín Panenka cheekily chipping in the final spot-kick for Václav Ježek's side.
• Although Pauleta ended up as the highest scorer in the European zone of the 2006 World Cup qualifying round competition with eleven goals, Czech Republic striker Jan Koller was second on nine with Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden) and Aleksei Eremenko Jr. (Finland) a further goal behind.
• Up until the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying, the Czech Republic had played 54 matches in the UEFA European Championship, winning 39, drawing eight and losing seven. In that time, they scored 117 goals and conceded 37.
• From independence up until the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying the Czechs' record in the qualifying round of the UEFA European Championship reads - won 25, drawn six and lost two.
• They secured their biggest victory in UEFA European Championship qualification by beating San Marino 7-0 in Liberec on 7 October 2006.
• The Czechs retain a 100 per cent qualification record for the UEFA European Championship finals with four appearances from four attempts.
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How are their preparations going for UEFA EURO 2008™? Final tournament match schedule 07-29 June 2008 • Having won their first three friendlies after the FIFA World Cup finals, a 2-1 defeat against Austria served as a wake-up call for Jakob Kuhn's side. perform at the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Two more losses prompted Kuhn to get tough and drop captain Johann Vogel, while injuries to established stars Ricardo Cabanas and Alexander Frei in 2007 caused further disruption to his plans.
• There have been encouraging results, though, notably a 1-1 draw against Argentina in June 2007 and a 2-1 win against the Netherlands – with Tranquillo Barnetta scoring twice – two months later.
• Before the latter match, Kuhn said of Switzerland's finals ambitions: "Success would be to reach the quarter-finals. Of course it won't be easy, but that has to be our goal. Four years ago, when we really hit a low point, I developed an internal strategy with the title 'European champions 2008'. That was being very optimistic but we have to strive towards big goals and go out there with the necessary confidence to deal with these challenges."
• Kuhn will retire as Switzerland coach after the finals, saying: "I have promised my wife that I'll call it a day after UEFA EURO 2008™."
• Kuhn led Switzerland to their second successive major international tournament, as they finished unbeaten - and second behind France - in Group 4 before progressing on away goals against Turkey in an incident-packed play-off.
• They topped Group G at the finals in Germany, drawing their opening game 0-0 against France, and then beating both Togo and Korea Republic 2-0 - with Alexander Frei scoring in both games.
• They drew 0-0 with Ukraine in the Round of 16 but lost 3-0 on penalties. Ricardo Cabanas and Marco Streller had their efforts saved while Barnetta's spot-kick hit the crossbar.
• They thus bowed out of the competition without conceding a goal in open play.
perform at UEFA EURO 2004™?
• Switzerland defied the odds to qualify for their second UEFA European Championship finals, coming top of a five-team Group 10 which also featured Russia and the Republic of Ireland.
• Qualification went down to the wire, with a 2-0 win against the Irish on the final day ensuring that second-placed Russia could not catch them.
• Switzerland drew 0-0 with Croatia in their opening game of the finals in Portugal but then lost 3-0 to England and 3-1 to France to finish bottom of Group B
• Johan Vonlanthen scored their only goal of the finals, cancelling out Zinédine Zidane's goal for France before Thierry Henry struck twice late on to win the game. Vonlanethen's goal made him the tournament's youngest ever scorer.
What is their best performance in the UEFA European Championship?
• Switzerland have twice qualified for the finals of the UEFA European Championship, doing so for the first time at the ninth attempt at EURO '96™. They then qualified again for UEFA EURO 2004™. Both of their finals campaigns have started with draws - 1-1 against hosts England in 1996 and 0-0 with Croatia in Portugal - but ended with two subsequent defeats.
Key facts
• This is the first time the UEFA EURO 2008™ co-hosts will have played in consecutive UEFA European Championship finals and the 2008 tournament will be their third finals overall.
All-time record
• Their record prior to the finals of UEFA EURO 2008™ was 80 matches played with 29 wins, 22 draws and 29 losses, with 119 goals scored and 108 conceded.
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