Kuhn: The party will go on

Switzerland coach Köbi Kuhn has vowed "the party will go on" despite the co-hosts' early exit from UEFA EURO 2008™.

Early exit
An injury-time goal in Basel last night gave Turkey a 2-1 win against Switzerland that means Kuhn's side will definitely finish bottom of Group A regardless of Sunday's result against Portugal at St. Jakob-Park. But the coach, who will step down to be replaced by Ottmar Hitzfeld after the tournament, has said the different nationalities represented in Switzerland will ensure that the atmosphere will not deflate and the home fans will overcome their disappointment.

'Life goes on'
"The party will go on, no doubt about it," Kuhn said. "Switzerland is a multicultural country, there are enough Germans, Portuguese, French, Italians living here. It will remain a wonderful party and I'm sure the Swiss will not hold back and celebrate as best they can. And they deserve to celebrate. I am very disappointed but life goes on."

Group A decider could go to penalties

If Turkey and the Czech Republic draw their final Group A match in Geneva on Sunday, second place and a quarter-final berth will be decided on penalties.

Shoot-out chance
The Czech Republic lost 3-1 to Portugal on Wednesday evening and then Turkey beat Switzerland 2-1 – both after added-time goals. That leaves the Czech Republic and Turkey level on points, goal difference and goals scored, and according to Article 7.08 in the official 2008 UEFA European Championship regulations, in that instance, if the two equal teams are playing in the last game, their match is decided by spot-kicks after 90 minutes should it finish level.

Regulations
Article 7.08 reads: "If two teams which have the same number of points, the same number of goals scored and conceded play their last group match against each other and are still equal at the end of that match, the ranking of the two teams in question will be determined by kicks from the penalty mark, provided no other teams within the group have the same number of points on completion of all group matches." The full regulations can be read by clicking here. Whoever finishes second in Group A will play the winners of Group B in Vienna on 20 June. Portugal, as Group A winners, face the Group B runners-up in Basel the night before.

Precedent
The situation has arisen before in a UEFA final tournament. In the 2002/03 UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship in Germany, Italy and Sweden went into their last group game exactly level. A last-gasp Italy goal made the score 3-3, and Sweden won the shoot-out 4-1, though they were to lose to Norway on penalties in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, while Turkey have never been in a major penalty shoot-out, the Czech Republic beat France 6-5 to reach the 1996 UEFA European Championship semi-finals and Czechoslovakia defeated West Germany 5-3 in the 1976 final and France 9-8 in the 1980 third-place match, giving the nation a major tourmament record of three wins out of three with all 20 attempts converted.

Experience
Meanwhile, both likely goalkeepers on Sunday have recent experience of major penalty shoot-outs. Turkey's Volkan Demirel saved three spot-kicks as Fenerbahçe SK defeated Sevilla FC 3-2 on penalties in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round in February. Fenerbahçe then lost to Chelsea FC, who reached the final only to be beaten 6-5 in a penalty competition by Manchester United FC in Moscow, Petr Čech saving from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sweden Humilates Greece

The lacklustre nature of their loss to Sweden may have been a bitter pill to swallow for Greece, but with Giorgos Samaras insisting that there is "no point crying over spilled milk", the holders' UEFA EURO 2008™ campaign appears far from over.

No spark
The grim looks on Greek faces said it all. It was not so much starting their UEFA European Championship defence with a 2-0 loss to Sweden that was difficult to swallow, but the manner of defeat. Ninety minutes had brought only five shots by the holders, their circumspect performance meaning that as soon as Zlatan Ibrahimović gave the Swedes the lead with a sumptuous strike, a way back never looked on the cards. "Our passing game lacked spark and creativity," admitted centre-back Traianos Dellas. "Sweden played behind the midfield and it was difficult for us to move forward. It became increasingly obvious that the team that scored first would claim all three points. An outstanding goal by Ibrahimović gave the Swedes the edge. That's football."

Waiting game
That strike also drew admiring glances from Giorgos Samaras, who added: "He was off our radars for one second and he delivered. It was an outstanding goal. For a player like him, all it takes is one moment." Petter Hansson soon sealed Greece's fate at the Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim, though for Nikos Liberopoulos, watching from his vantage point on the substitutes' bench, it was at the back where Sweden were superior. "Watching from the sidelines, it was obvious that we feared the Swedes and they feared us," he said. "They are a very well organised team and had done their homework extremely well. They were patient, waiting for us to take the initiative and Greece are not used to playing like that. We still have two matches to go and we can still turn this situation around."

'Nothing is over'
That optimism was echoed throughout the Otto Rehhagel's camp, and the towering Dellas has been around for long enough to know there is still time for the holders to turn it around. "Nothing is over yet," the 32-year-old insisted. "We will explore our options, and we have to change some things. It's not my place to point out what must be changed – we have a coach who makes the decisions – but we need to remain calm, relax for a couple of days and be stronger against the Russians." Samaras was even more to the point, insisting that there is "no use crying over spilt milk". He added: "The only thing left for us now is to collect ourselves and plan for the two remaining encounters. It was an off day, a bad day at the office. Hopefully we will do better against the Russians."

David Villa Hatrick Ruins Russia

A scintillating hat-trick from David Villa gave Spain a clear-cut 4-1 victory over Russia in their first outing at UEFA EURO 2008™ and confirmed the immense power of the Valencia CF striker's partnership with Fernando Torres.

Thrilling match
In a high-quality Group D encounter, Russia provided moments to indicate that Luis Aragonés's side may still be vulnerable at the back and gained consolation with Roman Pavlyuchenko's 86th-minute header. But Villa's second goal in particular was a stunning team move which may already be one of the goals of the tournament. Only the seventh player in finals history to score three in a game, the 26-year-old's treble was the first in a EURO since Patrick Kluivert's against Yugoslavia eight years ago. Villa then utterly stamped his class on the match, crossing for Xavi Hernández to volley and substitute Cesc Fàbregas to head in the fourth in stoppage time.

Unerring finish
Torres has always asked for a quick supply of the ball at international level and in the 20th minute he got it. Courtesy of a Joan Capdevila interception and a notable right-footed pass from the left-back, the Liverpool FC forward was left one on one with his marker. Torres used good upper body strength to put Denis Kolodin under immense pressure and when the Spaniard skipped clear he allowed goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev to try and dive at his feet before slipping the ball to the right, into the path of Villa who finished unerringly. Such was the drama of the contest that within seconds Russia nearly equalised. Their love of overlapping full-back play had already caused havoc in the jumpy Spain back line, but instead of Aleksandr Anyukov this time it was Dmitri Sychev whose right-wing cross drifted, agonisingly, across Carles Puyol, Marcos Senna and even Andrés Iniesta before Konstantin Zyryanov cracked the ball off the post.

Second goal
Instead of daunting Spain, it seemed as if the players in red took their luck as an indication that this was their night. Within six minutes of Villa's first goal, he and Torres had created three outstanding opportunities – two of which needed smart blocks by Akinfeev. Russia, for their part, were fighting like terriers to impose themselves, repeatedly catching Iniesta in possession, and Pavlyuchenko even hit the bar with a left-footed shot though referee Konrad Plautz had already called a foul. Villa closed a sparkling 45 minutes with Spain's second, however, following a brilliant move. Zyryanov attempted an ambitious pass across the Spain box and David Silva ran to retrieve it, sparking a lightning-quick passing movement through Silva, Capdevila and Iniesta which left Villa sprinting into the box where he slipped the ball between Akinfeev's legs.

End to end
The introduction of Vladimir Bystrov for Sychev made an impact as Russia sought a way back. Guus Hiddink's men pushed forward relentlessly and Bystrov's header from Zyryanov's cross in the 51st minute brought Iker Casillas into action before Diniyar Bilyaletdinov shot narrowly wide eight minutes later. However, Spain were irrepressible. Fàbregas came on for Torres as Aragonés chose to rest his striker and give the Arsenal FC man a taste of the action. Villa almost had his hat-trick in the 66th minute but was prevented by a superb Anyukov tackle, yet the forward did not have to wait much longer. With 15 minutes left, he turned Roman Shirokov inside out and finished expertly with his right foot. It was just that Russia's commitment to attack eventually won some reward in the final minutes. Zyryanov, culpable for the second goal but Hiddink's best player, took a corner which Shirokov nodded on and Pavlyuchenko headed in at the back post. Even then Villa had the last word, though, creating Spain's fourth and Fàbregas's first for his country.

Euro 2008 Standings

STANDINGS

• Group A
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D

Group A

Teams	Pld	+/-	Pts
Portugal	1	2	3
Czech Republic	1	1	3
Switzerland	1	-1	0
Turkey	1	-2	0

Group B

Teams	Pld	+/-	Pts
Germany	1	2	3
Croatia	1	1	3
Austria	1	-1	0
Poland	1	-2	0

Group C

Teams	Pld	+/-	Pts
Netherlands	1	3	3
France	1	0	1
Romania	1	0	1
Italy	1	-3	0

Group D

Teams	Pld	+/-	Pts
Greece	0	0	0
Sweden	0	0	0
Spain	0	0	0
Russia	0	0	0

Netherlands Makes History In Euro Cup Starter

Marco van Basten believes his Netherlands team "can have nice dreams" if they continue to play with the quality which enabled them to brush aside Italy in Berne. The legendary striker was proud to watch his team make history – and finally get one over on the world champions after losing four times to the Azzurri as a player. His opposite number and former AC Milan team-mate Roberto Donadoni was philosophical in defeat, saying: "It was definitely a bad night but we'll take stock of what happened and look to the future."

Marco van Basten, Netherlands coach
You could say that I'm proud. I'm proud that we won against the world champions, and at the way we played football tonight, scoring three goals and playing until the last minute. It was a historic result because in the past we have never beaten Italy 3-0 – this was a serious performance. The players responded in a wonderful way and played like a team, showing amazing spirit. If we play with this quality we can have nice dreams. Until the very last minute we tried to play proper football, and made life difficult for the Italians. In spite of their pressure we continued playing and I have to congratulate my team for pushing on and scoring.

We cannot talk of a new era, we have won one game – the first in our pool. I'm very happy to beat a big opponent but we have only taken one step. If you have the spirit we had tonight you're able to do nice things, but there are a lot of other good teams here. In several areas we were better than the Italians but they have many good and experienced players in their team. I'm convinced they'll recover as they have too much class not to. This is only one game, and we will prepare in the same way for the others. If we lose to France, we have problems again. This is only the first step, and we'll have to see if we can repeat it against France and Romania.

Roberto Donadoni, Italy coach
When we went 1-0 down things got complicated and for the second we were not quick enough to recover our positions after the corner. We looked strong physically and created a few chances but it wasn't our night. I think the Netherlands played as well as we expected them to. We knew they were capable of creating chances and making life difficult for us and that's what they did but we made mistakes and paid for it. It started badly and ended up worse but this is already history and we need to think about the next game against Romania. We need to recover physically and mentally so we can put things right straight away.

If we're not optimistic we should go off on holiday instead of taking the flight to Zurich. The players need to put this defeat behind them, understand the mistakes we've made. As of tomorrow we'll start working on them so they don't happen again. We were naïve at conceding goals on the counterattack. We took a corner and were not attentive enough afterwards. We didn't defend properly. Obviously in the light of this result, we're happy that France and Romania drew. It's to our advantage but also shows that Romania are a team who'll make it difficult for us.

France draws 0-0 with Romania

Romania made a promising start to their UEFA EURO 2008™ campaign, holding one of the tournament favourites, France, to a goalless draw at the Letzigrund Stadion in Group C.

Anelka chance
Victor Piţurcă's side, appearing in their first major finals for eight years, restricted Les Bleus to a handful of half-chances as the two-time European champions struggled to impose their quality on proceedings. Nicolas Anelka was guilty of missing the game's clearest opportunity when he headed Franck Ribéry's cross over in the first half, but with Thierry Henry confined to the substitutes' bench, Raymond Domenech's men lacked a cutting edge and rarely put the well-organised Romanians in serious difficulty.

Cagey start
These teams boasted two of the meanest defensive records in qualifying and from the opening exchanges it was obvious the contest would be tight. France monopolised possession early on yet rarely threatened Bogdan Lobonţ's goal as Mirel Rădoi, Răzvan Cociş and Cristian Chivu tenaciously closed down space in front of their back four. With Henry still not fully fit, Anelka and Karim Benzema started in attack for the first time, and both fired in wayward shots during a cagey first ten minutes.

Instant response
Daniel Niculae had been given the task of leading Romania's front line on his own and succeeded in posing problems to Lilian Thuram and William Gallas. In the 16th minute, the striker, who plays in France with AJ Auxerre, might have done better than drag his shot wide after Adrian Mutu's deft knockdown. The French response was instant, though, Claude Makelele releasing Florent Malouda through the middle, only for Lobonţ to sprint off his line and deny the Chelsea FC winger.

Frustration
That would prove the only time the pacy France forwards got in behind Romania's canny defenders. Ribéry and Benzema began interchanging positions without much joy, although the FC Bayern München playmaker did lay on a golden chance for Anelka on 33 minutes. After playing a corner short, Ribéry's cross found the Chelsea striker unmarked but he headed over. Anelka vented his frustration four minutes later by blasting into the side-netting from an impossible angle, as Benzema's calls for a cross went unanswered.

Mutu free-kick
Both sides began the second period in more attack-minded fashion. Malouda was the first to threaten, bursting past Cosmin Contra but shooting over the crossbar, before Romania enjoyed their best spell. Chivu's influence was growing and when his slide-rule pass found Mutu, the ACF Fiorentina player was felled by Willy Sagnol on the edge of the box. But as the France fans held their breath, Mutu directed his free-kick disappointingly into the wall.

Vocal fans
Despite the attempts of the vocal Romanian supporters to suck the ball towards Grégory Coupet's goal, Les Bleus finished in the ascendancy. Ribéry's low centre from the right reached Benzema unmarked just inside the penalty area but his first-time shot was straight at Lobonţ on 57 minutes. The Lyon youngster then miscued another right-footed attempt after latching on to Anelka's header. Bafétimbi Gomis and Samir Nasri were introduced for the closing stages, yet neither succeeded in making inroads, as Romania held firm until the very end.