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Sixteen teams are participating in the tournament. Austria and Switzerland automatically qualified as hosts; the remaining 14 teams were determined through qualifying matches which began in August 2006. The winner of Euro 2008 will qualify for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, but will not be obliged to participate in it.
Austria/Switzerland, Greece/Turkey, and Hungary were recommended before the final vote. Greece and Turkey were rejected and let Hungary and Austria/Switzerland battle for the win.
The Austria/Switzerland bid is the second successful joint bid in the competition's history, following the UEFA Euro 2000 hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands. The 2012 competition in Poland and Ukraine is scheduled to become the third jointly-hosted tournament.
Venues
The tournament will be played at eight venues throughout the two host nations; four in Austria and four in Switzerland. Each venue has a capacity of at least 30,000 for the tournament; the largest stadium is Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna with a capacity of 53,295. It is for this reason that Ernst Happel Stadion will host the final. Switzerland will play all of its group stage matches at St. Jakob Park in Basel, which also hosted the opening match of the tournament as a compromise for the final being held in Vienna. Austria will play all of its group stage matches at Ernst Happel Stadion.
In 2004, the Zürich venue became a problem for the organisers. Originally, the Hardturm stadium was to be renovated and used as the city's venue, but legal challenges delayed the plan to a point that would not have allowed the ground to be used in 2008. This created a problem, as the agreement between UEFA and the organizers stipulated that four venues would be used in each country. The problem was solved when the organizers proposed renovating Letzigrund instead; UEFA approved the revised plan in January 2005. The Letzigrund stadium hosted its first football match on 23 September2007.
A new trophy will be awarded to the winners of the Euro 2008 tournament. The new version of the Henri Delaunay Trophy, created by Asprey London, is almost an exact replica of the original designed by Arthus-Bertrand. A small figure juggling a ball on the back of the original has been removed, as has the marble plinth. The silver base of the trophy also had to be enlarged to make it stable. The names of the winning countries that had appeared on the plinth have now been engraved on the back of the trophy, which is made of sterling silver, weighs 8 kilograms (17.6 lb) and is 60 centimetres (24 in) tall.
The draw for the qualifying round took place in Montreux, Switzerland on 27 January2006 at 12:00 CET.
The qualifying process commenced a month after the 2006 World Cup. Austria and Switzerland automatically qualified for the tournament finals as host nations.
The qualifying format was changed compared to previous tournaments. The winners and runners-up from seven groups automatically qualified for the Championship, with the hosts filling the other two slots in the 16-team tournament. The change means there were no play-offs between teams finishing in second place in the groups—they qualified directly for the finals. Teams that finished in third place didn't have any further opportunity to qualify. Six of the qualifying groups contained seven teams, and the other, Group A, contained eight.
The draw for the final tournament took place on 2 December2007 at the Culture and Convention Centre in Lucerne.
In a return to the format used at Euro 92 and Euro 96 the games in each group will be held at just two stadia, with the seeded team remaining in the same city for all three matches. As was the case at the 2000 and 2004 finals, the finalists were divided into four seeding pots, based on average points per game in the qualifying phases of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008, with each group having one team from each pot. Switzerland and Austria, as co-hosts, and Greece, as defending champions, were seeded first automatically. The Netherlands were seeded based on their UEFA coefficient in the Euro 2008 finalists ranking.
Each nation had to submit a squad of 23 players, three of which had to be goalkeepers, by 28 May2008. If a player was injured seriously enough to prevent him from taking part in the tournament before his team's first match, he could be replaced by another player.
Pld = total games played; W = total games won; D = total games drawn (tied); L = total games lost; GF = total goals scored (goals for); GA = total goals conceded (goals against); GD = goal difference (GF−GA); Pts = total points accumulated (3W+D)
Tie-breaking criteria
According to the official UEFA rules for the tournament, the following tie-breaking criteria will apply, in this order, should two or more teams from the same group finish with an equal number of points. In keeping with previous European championships, the head to head record between the tied teams takes precedence over goal difference.
Number of points earned in matches between the teams in question;
Goal difference in matches between the teams in question;
Goals scored in matches between the teams in question;
Goal difference in all group matches;
Goals scored in all group matches;
In cases where exactly two teams are equal in all previously listed critera and play one another to a draw in their final group match, kicks from the penalty mark will be conducted in lieu of the remaining criteria;
Coefficient from the qualifying competitions for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2006/08 UEFA European Football Championship (points obtained divided by the number of matches played);
Fair play conduct of the teams in the group stage;
Drawing of lots.
Key to colours in group tables
Top two teams progress to the quarter-finals
Bottom two teams are eliminated from the tournament
Portugal has qualified for the quarter-finals as Group A winners.
The winner of the match between Turkey and the Czech Republic will progress to the quarter-finals as Group A runners-up. If the match is drawn, the progressing team will be determined by a penalty shootout.
Switzerland cannot qualify for the quarter finals and will finish bottom of the group.
Croatia have qualified for the quarter finals as Group B winners.
Germany will qualify if they beat or draw with Austria.
Austria will qualify if they beat Germany, and Poland do not beat Croatia.
If Austria and Poland both win their next matches, one of those teams will progress depending on goal difference, goals scored, or on the basis of average points scored in recent qualification tournaments.
Poland would have to win by a greater margin than Austria to have any chance.
If Poland win by a margin greater than Austria's by 2 or more, Poland will qualify.
If Poland's winning margin is one greater than Austria's, Austria need to score more goals than Poland to qualify.
The Netherlands have qualified for the quarter finals as Group C winners.
Romania will advance if
they beat the Netherlands,
or they draw with the Netherlands, while Italy and France draw,
or they lose to the Netherlands by a margin of 3 goals or less, but not 0–3, while Italy and France play a 0–0 draw.
Italy will advance if
they beat France, while Romania fail to beat the Netherlands,
or they play a 1–1 or higher draw with France, while Romania lose to the Netherlands,
or they play a 0–0 draw with France, while Romania lose to the Netherlands by a 0–3 scoreline or by more than three goals. (If Romania lose 3-0 and Italy draw 0-0, Italy qualify on the basis of UEFA coefficients)
France will advance if
they beat Italy, while Romania fail to beat the Netherlands.
The knockout stage is different from that of past tournaments. Teams in groups A and B will be separated from teams in groups C and D until the final. This increases the chance of a group fixture being replayed in the knockout stage, and renders impossible a final between two teams drawn in the same half of the tournament. Also, in another major change, for the first time in a European Championship, only two venues (St. Jakob-Park, Basel and Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna—the two largest of the eight stadiums used) will be used for the seven matches in the knockout stage of the tournament.
International football tournament stage
The knockout stage of UEFA Euro 2008 began with the quarter-finals on 19 June 2008, and was completed on 29 June 2008 with the final at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.
The knockout stage was different from that of past tournaments. Teams in groups A and B were separated from teams in groups C and D until the final. This meant that teams from the same group who advanced past the quarterfinals would play each other again in the semifinals instead of the final. The reason for the format change this year was to equalise the rest periods during the knockout stage. Also, in another major change, for the first time in a European Championship, only two venues (St. Jakob-Park, Basel and Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna) were used for the seven matches in the knockout stage of the tournament. As with every tournament since UEFA Euro 1984, there was no third place play-off.
Another new rule forgave all single yellow cards received up to and including the quarter-finals. However, players that were booked both in group tournament and quarter-finals missed semi-finals through suspension, but could play in the final. It was thus not possible to be suspended for the final without a red card.
Qualified teams
The top two placed teams from each of the four groups qualified for the knockout stage.
The first quarter-final saw Group A winners Portugal take on Germany, who finished as runners-up of Group B. Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger scored the opener half-way through the first half, before Miroslav Klose doubled their lead four minutes later. Portugal pulled one back five minutes before half-time, but Germany restored their two-goal lead on the hour mark. Portugal now needed two goals to take the game to extra time; Hélder Postiga pulled one back, but Germany were able to hang on to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time since 1996.
The second quarter-final was between Croatia and Turkey, and was a less high scoring affair. No goals were scored in normal time, and it took 29 minutes of extra time before Ivan Klasnić put Croatia into the lead. However, two minutes into injury time at the end of extra time Turkey was awarded a free kick. Controversially referee Roberto Rosetti did not allow the Croatian coach to put on a substitute, after Turkey was awarded the free kick, which would have allowed for the Croatian defence to better settle. A long free kick from Turkey goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber found Semih Şentürk on the edge of the area; the striker turned and hit a shot into the top corner of the net to take the game to a penalty shootout. Croatia went first, but only managed to score one of their four penalties, while Turkey scored all three of theirs to win 3–1.
The Group C winners, the Netherlands, who had won all three of their group games, took on Group D runners-up Russia in quarter-final 3. The Netherlands' players wore black armbands in sympathy for the death of Anissa, Khalid Boulahrouz's premature baby daughter. Russia took the lead through Roman Pavlyuchenko just before the hour mark. Ruud van Nistelrooy equalised in the 86th minute. In the 90th minute, Ľuboš Micheľ sent Russian defender Denis Kolodin off for a second booking, but reversed his decision afterwards. The reversal was based on a linesman's (mistaken) observation that the ball was out of play before the tackle. Eugen Strigel, head of the German referee committee, later judged the reversal against regulations as based on a mistaken premise. The Russians played on with 11 players and with two quick-fire goals in the last eight minutes of extra time from Dmitri Torbinski and Andrei Arshavin secured a remarkable win.
The final quarter-final pitted Spain against Italy. In 120 minutes of football, neither team managed to produce a goal, sending the game to penalties. Spain went first and scored three of their first four penalties, Gianluigi Buffon saving the other from Dani Güiza, while Iker Casillas saved two of Italy's four penalties. This left Cesc Fàbregas having to score to send Spain through. He converted, meaning that Spain had won their first competitive match against Italy since the 1920 Summer Olympics and that Spain had qualified for the semi-finals for the first time since 1984.
The first semi-final saw Group B runner-up and three-time champions Germany face Group A runner-up and first time semi-finalists Turkey. Turkey scored first as Uğur Boral converted a rebound from the crossbar. Bastian Schweinsteiger equalised for Germany four minutes later. In the 79th minute, Miroslav Klose headed Germany into the lead with his second goal of the tournament. Turkey managed to get back seven minutes later when Semih Şentürk flicked the ball past Jens Lehmann. The match was headed for extra time when defender Philipp Lahm in the 90th minute scored the final goal and sent Germany into their sixth European Championship final. The TV broadcast of the match experienced technical difficulties caused by severe thunderstorms in Vienna, Austria, from where the television broadcast was transmitted. Television pictures in several countries were interrupted on three occasions, including at the time of Klose and Semih's goals. The entire match was recorded and distributed to all countries.
The second semi-final was a replay of the opening match of Group D, Spain in their first semi-final since 1984 faced Russia who had not been in a semi-final since 1988 as the Soviet Union. The first half was scoreless, but five minutes into the second, Xavi opened the scoring. Dani Güiza replaced Fernando Torres in the 69th minute and scored the second goal for Spain in four minutes. David Silva rounded up the scoring with Spain's third of the night, sending Spain into their third European Championship final.
If Italy wins the tournament, the runner-up will qualify for the Confederations Cup, as Italy is already entered as the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
The match ball for the finals was unveiled at the draw ceremony. Produced by Adidas and named the Europass, it is a 14-panel ball in the same construction as the Teamgeist, but with a modified surface design. A version named the Europass Gloria will be used in the final.
There have been concerns raised about the match ball because it deviates so much in flight, making it difficult to judge for goalkeepers. Notable players to criticise are Germany's Jens Lehmann and the Czech Republic's Petr Čech.
As well as the official song, two soundtracks, "Like a Superstar" and "Feel the Rush", have been recorded by Jamaicanreggae artist Shaggy as mascot songs for Euro 2008. They form a musical background to video clips featuring the twin mascots Trix and Flix.
The official Swiss song for the tournament is a new version of "Bring en hei" by Baschi, Christina Stürmer sings the official tournament song of Austrian ÖFB, "Fieber" (Fever). Croatia manager, Slaven Bilić has recorded his country's official Euro 2008 song, "Vatreno ludilo" ("Fiery Madness"), with his rock group, Rawbau.
Mascots
The two official mascots for UEFA Euro 2008, were named after a vote from the public of the two host nations, the options were:
Zigi and Zagi
Flitz and Bitz
Trix and Flix
After receiving 36.3% of the vote, Trix and Flix were chosen. "I am sure the mascots and their names will become a vital part of the understanding of the whole event," said Christian Mutschler, who is the tournament director for Switzerland.
Slogan
The slogan for UEFA Euro 2008 was chosen on 24 January2007: Expect Emotions.
The UEFA President Michel Platini stated "It describes in a nutshell what the UEFA Euro 2008 has to offer: all kinds of emotions—joy, disappointment, relief or high tension—right up to the final whistle."
Prize money
UEFA announced that total of €184 million has been offered to the 16 teams competing in this tournament, increasing from €129 million in the previous tournament. The distributions as below:
Participating fee: €7.5 million
Extra payment based on teams performances:
Group stage (per match):
Win: €1 million
Draw: €500,000
Quarter-finals: €2 million
Semi-finals: €3 million
Runner-up: €4.5 million
Winner: €7.5 million
If the winner of the tournament wins all three matches in the group stage, they will receive a total prize of €23 million.
David Villa (4 goals)
Austria
Belgium
England
Germany
Greece
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Slovakia
Sweden
Switzerland
Portugal
Turkey
Czech Republic
71'
Croatia
Poland
Romania
France
France
Russia
Portugal
60'
73'
31'
