Co-hosts Switzerland brought the curtain down on their UEFA EURO 2008 campaign with stirring performance at St. Jakob Park, signing off with a victory thanks to a pair of second-half goals from Hakan Yakin.

Pride restored
Though it was not enough to take them off the bottom of Group A, the victory restored pride in a side that had been left with little else to play for after opening the tournament with successive defeats. Yakin struck on 71 minutes then again from the penalty spot with seven minutes to play to ensure victory. Prior to that a second-string Portugal team – featuring only four starters from their previous victory - had made enough chances to win the game, although they will be back at full strength when they return here on Thursday for their quarter-final.

Zuberbühler saves
Köbi Kuhn was starting his last match in charge of Switzerland and he brought in the ever-popular 37-year-old goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler for his first taste of UEFA EURO 2008™ while midfielder Johan Vonlanthen replaced Tranquillo Barnetta. Though there was nothing at stake, Switzerland fans were determined to give Kuhn and his side a rousing send off and they were in full voice early on. Portugal, though, were giving more reason to cheer. Luiz Felipe Scolari's reserves were playing for their places and Ricardo Quaresma staked his claim on seven minutes with a delightful pass flicked from behind his standing leg that Hélder Postiga headed wide. Ten minutes later Nani caught the eye, firing a low free-kick into the box to Pepe whose touch was spectacularly tipped on to the bar by Zuberbühler.

Behrami strike
It was not all one way traffic. On 19 minutes, Ricardo pushed a Gökhan Inler effort over before blocking Valon Behrami's shot with his legs. In an entertaining game chances were coming thick and fast, and just before the half-hour Ricardo was again pressed into action to palm away Hakan Yakin's header. With the latter stages of the competition in mind, Scolari brought on Jorge Ribeiro – brother of Maniche, a star of the 2004 finals – for Ferreira in the 41st minute as the Chelsea FC full-back had earlier been booked.

Woodwork
Chances continued to come and go at the start of the second half. Postiga headed over, Nani hit the post when clean through and Zuberbühler saved from Quaresma. Quite what Eusébio, watching on from the stands, made of such profligacy did not bear thinking. Portugal were almost made to pay when substitute Barnetta snapped a shot at goal from close range on the hour, but Pepe came to the rescue with a brilliant block. Four minutes later Vonlanthen had the cow bells ringing again with rasping drive that clipped the post.

Breakthrough
The breakthrough finally came on 71 minutes when Eren Derdiyok's deft touch slipped Yakin in behind the Portugal goalkeeper and 31-year-old rifled the ball beyond Ricardo. Yakin made sure of the points with seven minutes to play with a powerfully struck penalty after Fernando Meira had impeded Barnetta's run in the box. That left St. Jakob Park buzzing, but it is the Portuguese who live to fight another day.

Eliminated Switzerland provide the final first-round opposition for Group A winners Portugal on Sunday but coach Luiz Felipe Scolari allowed himself to look beyond this assignment and admit he dreams of ending his reign as Portugal coach on a high by leading the team to the European title.

Final dream
Speaking for the first time since the announcement he would be leaving his post at the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ to become Chelsea FC manager, Scolari denied that the timing of the news had had a disruptive effect – "no" was the one-word answer – and stressed he was committed "body and soul" to success with Portugal in Austria and Switzerland. "I am completely involved to the end," he said. "I hope we can get to another final. We have only cleared the first round and have to get over two more hurdles to get to the final. I know my players and I believe in them – it would be great if we could get to the final."

Strength in reserve
With tougher tests ahead, the Brazilian said that he would rest a number of players against the co-hosts – with forward Nuno Gomes "99.9 per cent" certain to be one of them. "If we have quality on the bench we should use it in the match. The result will not affect who we play in the next round. We will do what we did in 2006 [against Mexico] – we had a mixture of players who had played and others who had not played – so they can get into a rhythm and be available to play in future matches."

Kuhn praise
Portugal won that FIFA World Cup group match 2-1 against Mexico and Scolari's counterpart Köbi Kuhn believes that whoever starts for the opposition, an "attractive match" beckons. "You can never talk about a Portugal B side," said the Switzerland coach, who believes the Portuguese, impressive winners against Turkey and the Czech Republic, can go far – "maybe even to the final". While Scolari can still hope for a triumphant farewell with Portugal, Kuhn's own dream of a prolonged challenge in his final tournament at the helm died with Wednesday's last-gasp loss to Turkey.

Swiss goal
Despite the pain of elimination, Kuhn insisted Switzerland were determined to sign off in style in front of another full house at St. Jakob-Park. "We feel the same tension we do for any match. The tournament still has 90 minutes to run for us," he said. Without a point, Switzerland are resigned to the wooden spoon in Group A but they do have one tangible goal to aim for: claiming their first win in the UEFA European Championship, having drawn two and lost six of their eight finals matches down the years.

Zuberbühler recall
With Kuhn's seven-year reign as Switzerland coach closing - Ottmar Hitzfeld is waiting in the wings – the 64-year-old admitted that, for once, his selection might be influenced by a touch of sentiment, with a recall "quite possible" for 37-year-old goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler among others. Kuhn, though missing Alexander Frei and Marco Streller, does have Eren Deriyok available, the young forward having recovered from a sprained ankle suffered against Turkey.
 

Coach Fatih Terim says Turkey plan to "reverse the tide" in their Group A match against the Czech Republic as they seek the victory that will secure their place in the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2008™.

Time for a change
The record books show that Turkey have never beaten the Czechs, a trend which Terim is anxious to reverse at the Stade de Genève on Sunday evening. "I have checked the statistics and they are not very favourable to Turkey," Terim said. "Our aim is to reverse the tide and ensure that we're in the last eight. I know we are good enough and believe the time has come for us to beat them."

Penalties looming
The two sides go into the game parading identical records in Group A, having each accrued three points, scored two goals and conceded three in their matches against Portugal and Switzerland. Should the game finish level after 90 minutes, second place in the section will be decided on penalties for the first time in the history of the tournament. Terim is eager to avoid that scenario and insists his team will not be practising spot-kicks. "I am sure neither side wants this game to go to a shoot-out," said Terim, who steered Galatasaray AS to a penalties victory over Arsenal FC in the UEFA Cup final in 2000. "I have not prepared my players for penalties. It is not a situation you can plan for. I didn't do it for the UEFA Cup and I won't be doing it now. We want to win in 90 minutes."

Selection news
Terim, who confirmed that both Emre Belözoğlu (hamstring) and Tümer Metin (groin) will sit out the match through injury, also announced his lineup to take on the Czechs. Three changes have been made from the 2-1 success against Switzerland on Wednesday, with Emre Güngör replacing Emre Aşık, with Mehmet Topal preferred to Gökdeniz Karadeniz and with Semih Şentürk stepping in for the injured Tümer. By contrast, Czech Republic coach Karel Brückner has no injury worries and stresses that his team will go out with all guns blazing. "We hope to continue our improvement throughout this tournament," he said. "It's a huge game – like a cup final – and we know we can improve, but I have no doubt my players will win this game and progress to the last eight."

Penalty joy
Brückner, who is expected to keep faith with the same XI that lost to Portugal, is staying tight-lipped about which players he will ask to step up should the game go down to penalties. "We have players in our squad who are able to take responsibility if it comes down to that," he said. "But we plan to have won the tie long before that." Should the decision come down to a lottery, the Czechs have the security of knowing they have never missed a penalty in a EURO shoot-out – with Czechoslovakia having also won the tournament in 1976 thanks to Antonín Panenka's exquisitely chipped spot-kick. If his players can match that composure on Sunday, Brückner will be a very happy man.