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.

David Villa struck two minutes into stoppage time as Spain defeated a stubborn Sweden 2-1 at the Stadion Tivoli Neu in Innsbruck to guarantee their presence in the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals as Group D winners.

Spain through
The game had looked like ending in a draw after Zlatan Ibrahimović's second goal in as many games had wiped out Fernando Torres's 15th-minute opener on a chilly evening in the Austrian Alps. Yet Villa, the scorer of a hat-trick in the opening triumph against Russia, had other ideas as he raced on to Joan Capdevila's pass and dispatched it low into the net. Russia's later 1-0 win against Greece confirmed Spain's progress and completed a clean sweep of groups clinched with a game to spare after the efforts of Portugal, Croatia and the Netherlands. To earn a quarter-final against the Dutch, Sweden must now get at least a point against Russia here on Wednesday.

No surprise
Spain coach Luis Aragonés surprised no one by selecting the same XI that had started the Russia game, but there were only hints of the devastating fluidity of that 4-1 win as Sweden hustled and harried effectively. Ibrahimović could even have given Lars Lagerbäck's side the lead inside the opening minute only for the FC Internazionale Milano striker's normally assured touch to escape him when well placed inside the box.

Lunging in
Spain, playing towards the red-and-yellow masses of their supporters behind Andreas Isaksson's goal, did give flashes of the form which has seen them billed as potential champions. Andrés Iniesta's snaking run and strike had already had the Swedish goalkeeper scrambling, but Isaksson was powerless as Torres poked the Iberians in front on the quarter-hour. Villa threw the Swedish defence off balance as he unexpectedly flicked a short corner to David Silva, and the left midfielder had time to angle a ball to Torres who lunged in to turn in his first UEFA European Championship goal.

Frailties exposed
The Swedish riposte was almost instant, Johan Elmander ruffling the side-netting after he had latched on to a delightful Henrik Larsson flick. It was a warning to Spain though and – after the injured Carles Puyol had been replaced by Raúl Albiol on 24 minutes – their defensive frailties were again exposed. Elmander's searching ball from the right found Ibrahimović unmarked at the far post, and though he again failed to control cleanly, a slip by Sergio Ramos allowed him to turn and fire low past Iker Casillas.

Bravely blocked
With Ibrahimović failing to emerge for the second half, Sweden lost momentum, and it was Spain who threatened to break the deadlock soon after the hour. Silva and Villa's neat interchange of passes led to the former's shot being parried by Isaksson, who then took a nasty blow in the face as he bravely blocked Villa's follow-up. As the Sweden No1 lay grounded, Torres had sent a left-footed drive goalwards but Daniel Andersson made a timely block. Isaksson recovered sufficiently to brilliantly turn behind Marcos Senna's low drive in the 68th minute as Spain poured forward.

Late drama
Though the game was being played exclusively in their half, Sweden could have grabbed a late winner as Peter Hansson turned a free-kick back across the goal where Larsson arrived just too late to turn it in. Instead the glory went to Villa, the tournament's leading scorer on four goals. Whatever happens against Greece in Salzburg on Wednesday, Spain will meet the Group C runners-up on Vienna on 22 June.

The Netherlands secured their place in the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals with a game to spare after producing another devastating display against France in Berne, with Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder all scoring in a memorable win.

Clinical counterattacks
Twenty years after his goals led the Netherlands to the European title, Marco van Basten's 2008 crop underlined their case as serious contenders by building on their defeat of Italy to tie up first place in Group C. There may have been less of the flamboyance they had shown in beating the Azzurri – the Dutch riding their luck at times after Kuyt's early breakthrough – but the speed of their counterattacking play was again in rich evidence, never more so than in the second goal scored by Van Persie after a lightning surge by Robben. Even when Thierry Henry halved the deficit, Robben immediately restored the two-goal cushion to leave France, punished further by Sneijder, joint-bottom of the section with a solitary point – and with everything to do against Italy on Tuesday, when the Netherlands play second-placed Romania.

Early setback
France, under pressure to perform following their opening stalemate against Romania, came out with Henry installed as leader of the line in place of Nicolas Anelka and Sidney Govou drafted in on the right, allowing Franck Ribéry to play as second striker. "Time to step up a gear" declared the front page of the morning's L'Equipe newspaper yet within nine minutes they were behind, Kuyt striking from the game's first corner. Rafael van der Vaart swung the ball in and the Liverpool FC forward got in front of Florent Malouda to nod past Grégory Coupet.

France threat
Kuyt then nearly profited from Lilian Thuram's misdirected header but, at full stretch, steered over. Les Bleus gradually found their stride, however, with Govou stepping past Joris Mathijsen and sending in a low drive that Edwin van der Sar saved with his legs. The volume of the France supporters began to rise as Florent Malouda, Govou and then the busy Ribéry all tested Van der Sar and Domenech's team picked up where they had left off on the restart as Henry pounced on a deflected centre by Patrice Evra – starting instead of Eric Abidal – and shot goalwards only to be denied by André Ooijer's block.

Substitutes combine
The FC Barcelona striker had an even better chance soon after but put too much weight on his lob after Malouda's acrobatic chip had sent him clear. How he was left to rue that miss when the Netherlands' two substitutes combined for the second goal after 59 minutes. Ruud van Nistelrooy sent Robben speeding down the left and his cross was volleyed in by Van Persie off the hand of Coupet.

Spectacular fourth
The excellent Van der Sar palmed away Ribéry's shot as France sought a lifeline and it came when Willy Sagnol provided the low ball for Henry to reduce the shortfall with a neat flick after 71 minutes. Yet hopes of a comeback lasted less than a minute. The tannoy music had barely stopped playing when Robben concluded a three-man move by blasting the ball between Coupet and his near post. Things only got worse for France, for whom this defeat was the worst in UEFA European Championship finals history, as Sneijder rounded off a stunning win in suitably spectacular fashion – driving in a fourth off the underside of the bar in added time.