June 08, 2008

A LATE, opportunist goal by striker Vaclav Sverkos enabled the Czech Republic to kick off their Euro 2008 campaign with a scarcely-deserved 1-0 over co-hosts Switzerland.

A match overshadowed by what appeared to be a serious injury to Switzerland's captain and leading goalscorer, Alexander Frei, was settled in the 70th minute.

Having cleared their lines from a corner, the advancing Swiss back four was caught out when the ball was knocked back over their heads, enabling substitute Sverkos to sprint clear before beating goalkeeper Diego Benaglio with the outside of his right boot from 12 yards.

It was a fine piece of finishing but a cruel blow for a Swiss side that was repeatedly frustrated by their opponents' outstanding goalkeeper, Petr Cech.

Further agony followed when substitute Johan Venlanthen's close-range shot came back off the bar with Cech finally beaten.

Swiss coach Jakob Kuhn, who fears Frei will be ruled out of the rest of the tournament once the results of a scan on his knee are known, said he was proud of his players' display.

“I told them they can leave the stadium with their heads held high,'' Kuhn said.

“Now we have to forget about this game and concentrate on the next match, against Turkey.

“Our chances of going through have certainly not increased but we still believe. Everything is still possible and we are not going to give up. We must build on what we did here today.''

Czech captain Tomas Ujfalusi admitted it had been a shaky display from his side.

“The most important thing is that we got the win,'' he said.

“We made some errors but overall our defence held out.

“We waited for our chance and when it came we took it. We have to continue like that.''

Manager Karel Bruckner added: “We did a good job. The first match is always very important and three points represents an excellent start. We were not at our best but we can play better and we will play better.''

The fact that Kuhn's squad had not played a competitive match in nearly two years was belied by a high-tempo start which might have yielded a goal after barely two minutes, when Frei's shot slid narrowly wide of Cech's right-hand post with the goalkeeper struggling to cover.

That set the tone for a first-half in which a combination of energetic pressing by the Swiss and the penetration of Lazio's Valon Behrami down the right flank restricted the Czechs to a handful of counter-attacks, their only moment of menace coming from David Jarolim's deflected cross which almost caught out Benaglio in the 13th minute.

The co-hosts, in contrast, might easily have been ahead by the break but for Cech.

Having blocked goalbound shots from Behrami and Gokhan Inler, the Chelsea goalkeeper came swiftly off his line to deny Frei at close range after the Swiss captain had been allowed to run on to Benaglio's box-to-box punt.

Frei gave one more demonstration of why he has plundered 35 goals in 60 appearances for his country - a swerving drive from 30 yards that Cech could only beat away -before tragedy struck three minutes from the break.

As he contested a 50-50 ball with Czech right-back Zdenek Grygera, the Swiss captain's left knee appeared to lock against his opponent's leg and he slumped to the turf in agony.

Minutes later he was limping from the pitch in tears, the hush that had descended on the St-Jakob Park stadium telling its own story.

Frei's replacement, the veteran Hakan Yakin, made his presence felt within a minute of the restart, drawing Tomas Galasek into a trip on the edge of the area and then curling the resulting free-kick inches over.

Nearly an hour had elapsed before the Czechs finally generated their first clear chance, Libor Sionko glancing Marek Jankulovski's free-kick wide after the inswinging delivery had found him unmarked six yards out.

Switzerland responded by carving out an equally gilt-edged opportunity of their own, Hakan planting his header wide from eight yards after a fine cross from overlapping right-back Stephan Lichsteiner.

The cost of that miss was to become apparent minutes later when Sverkos, a second-half substitute for the ineffective Jan Koller, fired the Czechs into the lead.

Switzerland battled to the end but a bitterly frustrating evening was to be summed up when Vonlanthen's follow-up crashed against the woodwork after Cech had parried Tranquillo Barnetta's low shot from the edge of the area.

June 09, 2008

CROATIA got their Euro 2008 campaign off to a winning start when a fourth-minute Luka Modric penalty proved enough to beat co-hosts Austria 1-0 in the opening game of Group B.

Croatia were well worth their win against a team placed 92nd in FIFA's world rankings and set the pace before group rivals Germany and Poland met in Klagenfurt later on Sunday (1845 GMT).

Austria have been widely tipped to lose all three games in their first appearance at a European Championship. Though they were keen enough, their disjointed efforts betrayed a lack of competitive action and they only came alive in the last 20 minutes.

Croatia, noisily backed by around 20,000 of their fans in the team's red and white chequered shirts, arrived at the tournament full of confidence after seeing off England from their qualifying group.

The decisive moment came minutes after their supporters had taken their seats after the anthems.

Ivica Olic was chasing a hopeful ball towards the byline when he was clumsily brought down by Rene Aufhauser and Modric converted the spot kick straight down the middle.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said: "We are happy to collect three points from the opening match which is always tough.

"I am not entirely happy with the performance in the second half, but we were very good in the opening period and should have led by a bigger margin at half-time.

"Although we were on the back foot after the interval, we had several promising breaks."

Summing up, he said: "We are delighted because we got the start we wanted and it will give us a lot of confidence. I have to congratulate my players for the effort."

Austria defender Martin Stranzl said: "It's not really that bitter of a defeat. We played very well after the first 25 minutes. Unfortunately we weren't able to score.

"They got the penalty early and then there were two situations later where there could have been a handball called against them. But the referee didn't make the call. That's football."

Modric's goal immediately settled the Croatians, whose neat-passing midfielders began coolly knocking the ball around.

Olic and Mladen Petric both went close to touching in a second after a dangerous low Darijo Srna free kick, before Petric, unmarked in the area, blasted wide after a deep cross from Vedran Corluka.

Austria looked shell-shocked by the early setback and only late in the half did they build any sort of attacking pressure, their best effort coming when Joachim Standfest steered a header just over the bar.

The home side were more positive after the break, pinning Croatia back for long periods and swinging in some dangerous crosses. But a poor final ball too often let them down.

The introduction of Umit Korkmaz for the last 20 minutes added some bite to the Austrian attack as they built to a rousing finale, but Croatia held out.

June 09, 2008

POLISH-born forward Lukas Podolski ended Germany's 12-year wait for a European Championship win on Sunday with two goals as his side's Euro 2008 campaign began with a 2-0 win over Poland.

Having turned 23 last Wednesday, Podolski combined with Germany's other Polish-born forward Miroslav Klose for his first goal on 20 minutes and followed up with an unstoppable volley on 72 minutes.

After Group B rivals Croatia had earlier got off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory over co-hosts Austria in Vienna, the result puts Germany on top of their group.

The last time Germany had won a European Championship game was way back in June 30 1996, when they beat the Czech Republic to win Euro 1996 at London's Wembley Stadium.

There had been some controversy last Wednesday when Polish tabloid Super Express printed a mocked up picture of Poland coach Leo Beenhakker holding the severed heads of opposite number Joachim Loew and Germany captain Michael Ballack.

Both sides had played down any problem, but 140 German fans were arrested in the city centre, although well-behaved fans in the stadium lent their passionate support.

Ballack said the Germans had been their traditional efficient selves in sealing the points.

"I think we played well. It's always difficult - you never know where you are before the first game of a tournament. I think we deserved victory. From the start we were aggressive," the Chelsea star told the BBC.

The Poles were making their European Championship debut, but are still yet to beat Germany in 16 meetings between the sides since 1933, with the Germans now claiming 12 wins with four draws between the neighbours.

Beenhakker had opted for five in midfield, with Euzebiusz Smolarek as the lone striker up front for Poland.

Loew had gone for a traditional 4-4-2 formation, keeping midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger - a star of the 2006 World Cup - on the bench until half-time, playing Podolski behind the two German strikers.

The move paid off as Podolski gave Germany an extra attacking option supporting front men Miroslav Klose, the top scorer at the last World Cup, who was partnering VfB Stuttgart hot-shot Mario Gomez up front.

After both sides squandered early chances, the trio combined to give Germany the break through they craved on 20 minutes.

Gomez flicked the ball over the defence for Klose to draw the goalkeeper before giving his Bayern Munich team-mate Podolski a simple tap in on 20 minutes past Poland's Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Poland's best chance of the first half - and ultimately the game - came when midfielder Wojciech Lobodzinski put in a superb pass, but Maciej Zurawski pulled his shot wide.

Polish striker Smolarek picked up the first booking on 40 minutes when he tripped Per Mertsacker.

During the half-time break, Beenhakker swapped his captain Maciej Zurawski for Brazilian-born Roger Guerreiro, but he made little impact and Lobodzinski earned Poland's second yellow card on 64 minutes for tripping Podolski.

Germany were dominating by this stage and when the ball fell to Podolski on 72 minutes, he drove his shot into the top corner of the net to give his side some breathing space.

German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann produced a string of saves as Poland applied some late pressure, but his defence held.

The result means Group B's two unbeaten sides will meet Thursday when Germany return here to face Croatia.

Ballack said he was looking forward to playing Croatia but cautioned: "I think it's an open game - both teams are very strong."

June 10, 2008

FRANCE did their chances of advancing from a tough Group C no favours when they drew 0-0 with Romania in a tight, tactical affair in their opening match at Euro 2008.

The 2006 World Cup runners-up, who will also face the Netherlands and world champions Italy in what is widely seen as the toughest group of the tournament, looked nervous and failed to breach a tight Romania defence.

France started the match at the Letzigrund stadium without striker Thierry Henry, who received a knock in a warm-up game, and midfielder and captain Patrick Vieira, sidelined by a thigh injury.

Neither side made any headway against some very tight defending, with only one shot on target in the entire match – steered straight at Romania keeper Bogdan Lobont by France striker Karim Benzema.

France coach Raymond Domenech said: "We know it is a complicated group and Romania are not there to do anybody any favours. We were nervous, we could not express ourselves fully, it's often like that in the first match.

"The situation we're in now is that every match will be a knock-out round.

"If we play with too much caution, something will be missing at the end. There are two matches left and six points to take. I'm neither pessimistic nor optimistic."

Though his strikers fired blanks, Domenech was pleased with the untroubled time had by his goalkeeper Gregory Coupet.

"The positive thing is that Greg did not have one save to make," he said. "We managed to control the match, but we were not dangerous enough."

Romania coach Victor Piturca said: "Personally I would have wanted the three points since France may no longer be at the level they used to be. You could see that today.

"Our goal was three points but in the end it was a fair result."

The first 45 minutes featured few highlights with Romania concentrating on defending and France dominating play but creating few clear chances.

Nicolas Anelka, playing in place of Henry, shot just wide on nine minutes and headed the ball over the bar after the half-hour mark in two of France's few threatening moves.

France had another chance on 17 minutes, Lobont rushing out to deny Florent Malouda before Anelka fired wide with an angled shot from the edge of the box.

Romania also showed signs of nerves, collecting three yellow cards in the first half, but stood firm at the back to keep alive their chances of making the quarter-finals.

The second half started in more promising fashion for France with Malouda twisting his way past two defenders and racing into the box to shoot just wide with an angled shot.

The pressure was back on Romania when Benzema fired at Lobont after collecting a Franck Ribery cross shortly before the hour.

Romania kept their cool, though, demonstrating how they had topped their qualifying group ahead of the Netherlands and showing their determination to give their group rivals a hard time.

France, looking for the right balance between ageing stalwarts and exciting newcomers, need to step up a gear in their next outings if they are to survive the group stage.

June 10, 2008

THE Netherlands' 30-year wait for a victory over Italy ended in glorious fashion in Berne as Marco van Basten's side rampaged their way to a 3-0 defeat of the world champions.

A goal from Ruud van Nistelrooy - which Italy claimed should have been ruled offside - may have kick-started the rout but there was no doubting that the Dutch, superior in every area, fully deserved a victory that was completed by Wesley Sneijder's close-range strike and a late breakaway goal by the outstanding Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Uncharacteristically shaky in defence, the Italians were given a painful reminder of the importance of their World Cup captain Fabio Cannavaro, who was ruled out of the tournament after suffering an ankle injury in training last week.

Marco Materazzi took Cannavaro's place in the centre of defence but filling the former world player of the year's boots was to prove beyond the Inter Milan veteran, who was humiliatingly substituted 10 minutes into the second half.

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said his men had to move on and look forward.

"The game started badly for us and ended up worse but it is already history.

"We made mistakes and paid for them but now we have to look forward to the Romania game, which is going to be critical now," Donadoni said.

The Dutch themselves were exultant.

"It's a great start for us. We must keep going now," said striker Dirk Kuyt.

"We've given everything we've got and it's a great result for us. But it's the first match and there's another two tough matches to come."

Austria's refereeing commission chairman Gerhard Kapl insisted after the game that the referee was "100 per cent correct without a doubt" not to rule the Netherlands' first goal offside.

He said van Nistelrooy was played onside by Italian defender Christian Panucci, who had been injured moments earlier and who was behind the goalline as Van Nistelrooy fired home.<p>

Kapl said the law stipulated that "an opposing player cannot be offside when one of the last two defenders has left the field of play," as in the case of Panucci.

The first clear indication of the extent to which the Italians would miss Cannavaro came after quarter of an hour, when van Nistelrooy got in behind Materazzi only to be let down by a heavy first touch as he attempted to go round Buffon.

Materazzi made partial amends by heading Sneijder's free-kick from the left over his own bar. But there was no such let-off for the Italians when Rafael van der Vart swung in a similar delivery from the opposite flank minutes later.

Buffon could only palm the ball away at his back post and when the ball was rolled back to Sneijder the midfielder unleashed a fierce low drive that van Nistelrooy turned into the net from three metres out.

As the striker was clearly offside, the ensuing protests may have been justified but their only result was a yellow card for Luca Toni.

Five minutes later the Italians found themselves in deeper trouble after a move that suggests Total Football is alive and well in the Netherlands.

Having cleared Andrea Pirlo's corner off his own line, van Bronckhurst immediately sprinted forward to take possession once more in the acres of space that had opened up down the left.

The Barcelona defender's cross was knocked down by Kuyt from beyond the back post and Sneijder, having stolen a yard on Materazzi, lashed the bouncing ball in between Buffon's left glove and the near post.

The world champions could offer little in response, their one real moment of menace before the break coming when Antonio di Natale's volley bounced through the legs of Khalid Boulahrouz with the result that Edwin van der Sar needed two attempts to smother the ball.

Van Nistelrooy should have extended the Dutch lead a minute before the break after Sneijder's superb pass once again put him in behind Materazzi.

From just inside the box, the striker pushed his shot towards the bottom corner only to see it ricocheted off Buffon's leg and up over the bar.

Within 10 minutes of the restart, Donadoni had decided radical surgery was required for his malfunctioning back four.

Materazzi was hauled off, Fabio Grosso introduced at left-back with Gianluigi Zambrotta switching sides to allow right-back Christian Panucci to move into the centre.

Alessandro Del Piero was also thrown into the fray and the Juventus forward's prodding helped the Italians finally display some of their true quality.

But after Toni had lifted their best chance of the night over the bar, van der Sar produced superb stops to keep out Grosso's low drive and one of Pirlo's trademark free-kicks in quick succession.

Inevitably gaps were being left at the back and the Dutch took advantage with another counter-attack move of breathtaking fluency that finished with van Bronckhorst playing the overlapping Kuyt into space inside the box.

Buffon blocked the Liverpool striker's shot but he was able to collect the loose ball and chip it into the area for van Bronckhorst to head home.

Poor starts are nothing new for Italy but, on this evidence, a World Cup and Euro double looks beyond Donadoni's men.

June 11, 2008

ZLATAN Ibrahimovic scored his first international goal for almost three years to send Sweden on the way to a 2-0 Euro 2008 win over champions Greece in Salzburg.

The striker, who last found the net for his country in October 2005, combined with partner Henrik Larsson to drive in a superb shot from the edge of the box after 67 minutes to break the deadlock in a dull game.

Petter Hansson scrambled the second goal five minutes later to put Sweden level on points with Spain, who beat Russia 4-1 in the other Group D game earlier.

"It was a difficult game today," Ibrahimovic told reporters. "We won the game and that was the most important thing.

"I feel very happy and it couldn't have begun better. It wasn't an easy game for the strikers because they played with central defenders."

Angelos Haristeas, scorer of the goal that won the 2004 title and one of six Greece survivors from that Lisbon final, had an early sight of goal after seven minutes when he cut in past two defenders on the right but scuffed his low shot.

Goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson also beat out an awkward, bouncing shot from Greece captain Angelos Basinas but spent most of his time watching from afar as the holders played possession football in their own half.

Sweden were neat in possession and always looking to release their re-formed strike partnership of Ibrahimovic and Larsson, the 36-year-old out of international retirement for a final swansong.

Both men, however, struggled to shake off the muscular attention of centre backs Traianos Dellas and Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Larsson once becoming the meat in a sandwich when the three climbed for a high ball.

Ibrahimovic stole a yard after 32 minutes to reach a hopeful Fredrik Ljungberg punt but his back-header went over.

The game changed when Larsson laid the ball back into the path of Ibrahimovic, who struck unerringly to end a 14-game goal drought in spectacular style.

Hansson then somehow forced the second over the line after a goalmouth melee.

"We made decisive mistakes on two occasions," said Greece coach Otto Rehhagel.

"The Swedes pressed a lot. We failed to exert pressure ourselves. We did not have that fighting spirit at the key moments."

Asked about Greece's approach for the next match against Russia on Saturday, he added: "We must show something different, we must."

June 11, 2008

DAVID Villa notched the first hat-trick of the tournament to help Spain hammer Russia 4-1 in their Euro 2008 opener in Innsbruck, Austria.

Villa grabbed his first when he steered the ball into an open goal after fellow striker Fernando Torres drew goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev out of his net in the 20th minute.

The 26-year-old Villa added the second before half-time, stroking the ball home after being put through by Andres Iniesta, before making it 3-0 when he tucked in a low shot after jinking past a defender on 75 minutes.

Russia pulled one back with a header from Roman Pavlyuchenko before substitute Cesc Fabregas dived to nod Spain's fourth goal from close range in injury time after more good work by the inspirational Villa.

"It was great to get three goals and it is a good start for the team," Villa told reporters.

"It was important to win this one but we have to remember it is only the first of three (Group D) games."

Spain, who beat Russia 1-0 in their opening match at Euro 2004, made a confident start to the tie under stormy skies at the Tivoli Neu stadium.

They quickly settled into their patient short passing game and had a couple of early chances, Torres sending a shot skidding wide in the eighth minute and Villa scooping an effort over the bar.

Russia also threatened with Yuri Zhirkov and Pavlyuchenko proving a handful for Spain's back four.

Spain, however, broke the deadlock when Torres raced on to a 30-metre pass from Joan Capdevila.

The striker made the most of a lucky bounce as he tried to beat defender Denis Kolodin before setting up Villa.

Russia almost equalised two minutes later when Konstantin Zyryanov fired a shot against the post.

Torres had a couple of half chances to extend Spain's lead but it was live-wire Valencia marksman Villa who went on to steal the spotlight.

"I am happy but I think we were a bit fortunate in the first half," said Spain coach Luis Aragones.

"They pressed us hard but we got that first goal on the break.

"Villa is a brilliant player but so is Torres when he's got space.

Russia coach Guus Hiddink said: "We were caught on the counter attack by our own mistakes.

"We were punished from very naive situations. That's a harsh lesson and I hope we can learn very fast from our mistakes."

For the first time in the tournament no yellow cards were shown.

June 12, 2008

CRISTIANO Ronaldo, tipped by many to become Euro 2008's player of the tournament, scored one goal and made another to give Portugal a 3-1 win over Czech Republic in Group A.

The victory at Stade de Geneve put Portugal firmly on top of the group with six points and within touching distance of a quarter-final berth.

With the game level at 1-1, Ronaldo struck in the 63rd minute with a firm shot from a pass by Deco and then set up Ricardo Quaresma to add the third in stoppage time.

"It's a very good feeling," Ronaldo said.

"We've almost reached our first goal which is to get to the next stage. I'm very happy I was able to contribute with a goal.

"We played well. The Czechs played really well during the first half. It was very hard to penetrate their defence.

"We created a lot of chances and played as a unit. If we keep on playing like that we've got a good chance of doing well in this tournament."

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was also satisfied with his team's performance.

"I am pleased with the commitment and dedication the team showed," said the Brazilian.

"We had to suffer, but we played well. This shows that we prepared in the right way."

Portugal began better and after midfield probing by both teams, they went ahead in their first foray into Petr Cech's area in the eighth minute.

Ronaldo sped through the defence and tried to round Cech. The goalkeeper blocked with his foot but the ball ran free to Deco on the left who put it in the net at the second attempt.

The goal stung the Czechs into action.

Libor Sionko equalised nine minutes later after the winger had won a corner with a penetrating attacking run down the right. Sionko then powered a header past Ricardo from Jaroslav Plasil's corner.

Czech Republic were far more enterprising and sharp than against the Swiss on Saturday with a Marek Matejovsky at the helm and striker Milan Baros trying to unsettle Portugal's Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho.

The Czechs were strong on the wings, forcing Ronaldo to try attacking down the middle where he brought a diving save from Cech with a shot from outside the area.

A Ronaldo free kick just before halftime was one of five Portugese shots on target in the first half to just one for Czech Republic.

The Czechs could have gone ahead minutes after the interval when Matejovsky set up Sionko for a low cross from the right that went across the face of goal untouched.

Close to the hour Cech made a good save from Simao Sabrosa's point-blank shot as the Czechs sat back soaking up pressure.

Czech captain Tomas Ujfalusi was just wide when he glanced a right wing corner with his head towards the far post minutes before Ronaldo struck.

Ronaldo then finished off a breakaway by squaring the ball for Quaresma to steer into an empty net.

June 12, 2008

ARDA Turan has ended Switzerland's interest in Euro 2008 in heartbreaking fashion, capping a man-of-the-match display with a stoppage-time goal that gave Turkey a 2-1 win in Basel.

Just as it seemed the co-hosts had done enough to stay alive in the competition, Arda broke clear on the left, cut inside and beat goalkeeper Diego Benaglio from the edge of the area with the help of a cruel deflection off the boot of centre-back Patrick Muller.

The goal was harsh on the Swiss, who were left to count the cost of wasting the chances they had to kill off the Turks long before the dramatic denouement.

"It is a wonderful feeling," Turkey coach Fatih Terim said.

"The players needed this for their confidence, and I congratulate them on their incredible effort."

Turkey can now join Group A leaders Portugal in the quarter-finals by beating Czech Republic in their final game.

"This win has given us a lot of confidence for the last game," Terim said. "Today is the begininng of the Euro for us. It was not easy, the conditions were difficult, and Switzerland are a very strong team, playing at home. So was an important win."

Hakan Yakin, one of three players in the Swiss side with family roots in Turkey, gave Jakob Kuhn's side a first-half lead. But the veteran playmaker also wasted two glorious chances to claim a second goal for his side, who were pegged back when substitute Semih Senturk headed home an equaliser just before the hour mark.

"It is hard to find the words to say how terribly disappointed we are," Hakan said. "The weather played a role, it was a bit of a lottery in the first half and in the end the luckier of the two sides won."

Kuhn described his squad's exit as "painful".

"The disappointment is huge, of course, but I can't criticise anyone," he said. "The team played as well as they could and they lost two matches in a rather unfortunate way. I'm not saying we were better but we had the chances to score a second goal."

Portugal's earlier victory over the Czechs had simplified matters for Switzerland, who kicked off knowing that defeat would mean the end of their tournament.

Injury took its toll on both sides, with the co-hosts deprived of captain and leading goalscorer Alexander Frei and his usual strike partner, Marco Streller, with the result that Hakan was partnered in attack by 19-year-old Eren Derdiyok.

Turkey were missing regular captain Emre Belozoglu and key defender Gokhan Zan for what was the first meeting between the two countries since their play-off for a place at the last World Cup ended in a mass brawl.

The pre-match suggestions that that incident was all water under the bridge was belied by the ferocity of the early exchanges, but a torrential downpour drew the sting from the encounter.

Swistzerland adapted better to the water-logged surface, thanks largely to the marshalling of Gokhan Inler.

The midfielder was first to test Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Demirel's handling, with a skidding long-range effort, and it was his crossfield pass that gave Hakan the opportunity to force the keeper into a smart save at his near post.

Volkan also did well to keep out Tranquillo Barnetta's free-kick before Arda struck the woodwork at the other end, although the Turkish midfielder knew little about it as Switzerland goalkeeper Diego Benaglio's punched clearance from Nihat Kahveci's free-kick rebounded off his head and against the post.

The direct Swiss approach paid off with just over half an hour gone, when Philippe Senderos's punt landed in the Turkish penalty area, where the sodden turf stopped the ball, Derdiyok skipped around the rushing Volkan and squared the ball across the saturated goalmouth for Hakan to tap in at the back post.

Hakan was guilty three minutes later of the miss of the tournament, after Valon Behrami's low cross from the right found him in an almost identical position. Astonishingly, the most technically gifted player on the pitch contrived to slice the ball wide from three metres

Such a flagrant miss was always like to prove costly, and Turkey, who switched to a three-man forward line with the introduction of Semih at the break, capitalised on the let-off 11 minutes into the second half.

Nihat swung in a cross from the left and Semih rose unchallenged to head the ball past Benaglio from close range.

Hakan had another clear sight of goal with seven minutes to play, but he side-footed his shot straight at Volkan, and, with the hosts straining for the winner, Turkey made their superior finishing count at the death.

June 13, 2008

CROATIAN-born Austrian player of the year Ivica Vastic became the oldest scorer in Euro championships history as he converted an injury-time penalty to give the co-hosts a 1-1 draw with Poland and ironically send his Croatia compatriots into the Euro 2008 quarter-finals.

The 38-year-old - who also scored the last time Austria appeared in a major finals at the 1998 World Cup in France - slotted home to keep the hosts' hopes of making the quarter-finals alive , though they will have to beat Germany to do so.

The Poles, who were incredulous at English referee Howard Webb's decision, had earlier taken the lead through 26-year-old Brazilian-born striker Roger Guerreiro, who only became a naturalised Pole in March.

The Austrians started brightly with captain Andreas Ivanschitz - whose romantic life has featured largely in the papers of late - having two shots at goal, one sailing harmlessly wide while his 32-metre freekick didn't pose a problem for Polish keeper Artur Boruc.

However, Boruc had to be at his best in the 11th minute as a poor backpass by a Polish defender released Austria's Martin Harnik, who raced clear but his shot into the far corner was deflected by the Celtic keeper for a corner.

Boruc did even better two minutes later as Vmit Korkmaz put in a great pass into the penalty area but Harnik again had his shot saved by Boruc with his legs failing to add to his international haul of two goals.

The Polish guardian was again equal to the task a few minutes later as with the Poland defence in disarray Christoph Leitgeb ran onto a beautifully weighted pass but his shot was again saved by Boruc.

The Poles - looking nothing like a side that finished above Portugal in their qualifying group - took over 20 minutes to even force a corner and after repelling another Austrian attack they hit the co-hosts with a real sucker punch.

Marek Saganowski controlled the ball after a brilliant cross from Euzebiusz Smolarek inside the penalty area and managed to get his pass past the outstretched hand of Jurgen Macho and the boot of Austria's Middlesbrough defender Emmanuel Pogatetz, for Guerreiro to slot it into the net, though he looked to be offside.

The goal provoked a rueful smile from Austrian coach Josef Hickersberger and a shake of the head while his players heads went down.

Unsurprisingly, Poland's veteran Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker had seen enough of Mariusz Jop at centreback and took him off at half-time as he tried to shore up his defence.

The Austrians thought they should have had a penalty in the 48th minute as Ivanschitz went down in the box under a challenge from Pawel Golanski but Webb waved aside the Austrian captain's appeals and it clearly looked as if he had dived.

Poland had a bit of wind in their sails and the impressive Smolarek surged onto a great ball by Guerreiro turned the defender and forced a bit of a fumbled save from Macho.

Macho was more alert in saving his side from going two down just after the hour mark as he got down smartly and blocked Polish captain Jacek Bak's shot with his legs, and got up to beat away a follow up shot by Mariusz Lewandowski.

Hickersberger decided to ring the changes at that point and somewhat surprisingly took off Ivanschitz and Roland Linz and sent on 38-year-old veteran Vastic and Roman Kienaast.

However, it was the Poles who had the next effort on goal with a fierce freekick by Jacek Krzynowek, which was tipped over the bar brilliantly by Macho.

The Austrians rarely troubled the Polish defence or indeed the magisterial Boruc with just Sebastian Prodl - who is suspended for the next match with the Germans - getting anywhere near the target with a header 10 minutes from time that went past the post.

It took Vastic to break the Poles' hearts.

The 65-year-old Beenhakker stormed onto the pitch at the final whistle furious with English referee Howard Webb's decision.

“It (penalty) was totally unjustified,” Beenhakker said.

“What was happening in the penalty box as they prepared to take the freekick is nothing different to what has been going on for the past five years.

“And none of the other referees have whistled. Before the tournament we received a DVD with what was allowed and what wasn't. There was a chapter on divers and referees were to pay extra attention to that.

“I have never had a problem with a referee since the beginning of my career. I just can't understand."

Beenhakker admitted that he was extremely disappointed at losing out on the three points.

“Of course I am extremely disappointed. My lads went to sleep for the first 20 minutes (when Austria had three clear chances saved by Artur Boruc).

“But after that we scored (Roger Guerreiro in the 30th minute) and in the second-half we were better than the Austrians.”

Beenhakker admitted that qualifying for the last eight was now a distant hope.

“I really don't think we will qualify. For the moment, I think we are out of the tournament and that is painful. We know what we are capable of. We didn't need this.”

For Guerreiro it was a memorable moment as the Brazil-born 26-year-old scored his first goal for his adopted country, but the end left a sour taste in his mouth.

“I would have gladly exchanged the man of the match award for a win,” said Guerreiro, who only became a naturalised citizen in March.

“We lost two points this evening. But we are professionals and we will pick ourselves up from this.”

Beenhakker's Austrian counterpart Josef Hickersberger was delighted his side had shown at least in the opening 30 minutes that they could play stylish football and create chances, and admitted he was licking his lips in anticipation of Monday's match with Germany - where a win for the Austrians would see them eliminate the Germans, who were beaten 2-1 by Croatia earlier today.

However, he said it was pointless to look back to Austria's famous 3-2 victory over then world champions West Germany at the 1978 World Cup finals, a match he played in.

“Matches against Germany are still something special to me,” said Hickersberger, who is in his second spell as national coach.

“I spent some wonderful years in the Bundesliga. But what happened 30 years ago counts for nothing. That win in Cordoba belongs to the past.”