UEFA EURO 2008 GROUP A
Czech Republic 0-0 Portugal
Switzerland v Turkey
GOALFLASHES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS (all times BST)
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(Not all contributions can be used) By Jonathan Stevenson
1703: Libor Sionko drifts in from the right and hits a left-foot shot that cannons off Czech soldier dies in Afghanistan ...
Germans Confident in Economy Despite Weak Dollar ... the head off Pepe and away to safety.
1701: Ronaldo, having got some joy down the left against Turkey, starts from there tonight. Crucially, it pits him against the Czech's right-back Zdenek Grygera and not their awesome left-back Marek Jankulovski.
1700: We are under way.
1658: I think the Portuguese anthem is my favourite. It just sounds so passionate. Moments away from kick-off here.
1656: "No Stevo! I just lumped a fiver on 3-1 Portugal and you've gone and jinxed it."
Kitman, Ealing, via text
1655: The teams are out. Once again, sounds like a cracking atmosphere in the Stade de Geneve.
1654: "In the first game, what did the Czechs actually create apart from the goal? Absolutely nothing. Jan Koller didn't look happy with his fitness and Milan Baros normally comes up with the goods in a Czech shirt."
BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Chris Waddle
1652: News just in: Portugal will be wearing white.
1652: "Ronaldo is the footballing equivalent of a flat-track bully, a very good player but not great. If I was a Utd fan I would bite the hand off anyone offering £60m. You might see Rooney start to flourish once the show pony has gone."
MattChall on 606
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So you think Cristiano Ronaldo is the new Graeme Hick? Extraordinary shout.
1649: "(See 1626) Jonathan. I know the J-man and he is in fact being serious. He himself does have a shocking head of hair so disregard all that he says."
Juan, Ipswich, via text
Thanks mate, you only need to tell me Juance.
1645: "For the conspiracy theorists out there, Luiz Felipe Scolari was quoted as saying Ronaldo should move to Real a couple of weeks ago. He is now favourite for the Chelsea manager's job. Conflict of interests?"
Desolation_row on 606
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Ooh, I love a good conspiracy theory, Desolation Row.
1642: The last time these two teams met, would you believe, was at Euro 96. Ah, what a tournament that was. Anyway, it was in the quarter-finals at Villa Park and the Czechs went through 1-0 thanks to Karel Poborsky's ludicrous scoop goal. Remember?
1639: "I think this is going to be an impressive victory for the Portuguese. The attacking ability along with the solid Moutinho in the midfield with prove to be to much for the Czechs to handle. It's gonna be a cracker."
Pora Di, via text
That boy Joao Moutinho, according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, is getting closer to a move to Everton. I heard £16m bandied around earlier this week. Thoughts?
Wednesday's gossip column
1634: On the subject of Cristiano Ronaldo, do we think the war of words that has broken out between Manchester United and Real Madrid will have any effect on him? He wasn't at his imperious best on Saturday for sure, but listen to any Portugal fan and they will say he's not quite the same player for them as he is for United. Does he need a great tournament to prove he is the world's undisputed number one?
1630: So something's got to give this afternoon in Geneva. The Czechs have won their last six competitive matches and are unbeaten in their last eight, while Portugal have not lost in 12 competitive games, their joint second-best run.
1626: Good work by the Czech coach to drop Koller. The guy was a chocolate teapot on Saturday. At least with Milan Baros you've got great hair."
The J-Man, Ipswich, via text
Great hair? I really, really hope you're kidding. At least Marek Jankulovski and Tomas Ujfalusi have the decency to look like warriors.
1622: "Turkey and Swiss makes a nice sandwich but probably not a nice football match... I feel a draw coming on but lets hope for a 2-2 even though my money is on another zeros match."
Bernardho on 606
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1619: "I wonder if Man Utd will report Chelsea to Fifa if Petr Cech or Ricardo Carvalho dare to speak to Ronaldo this afternoon."
Nigel, Leeds, via text
1615: "In advance, I predict that whatever Stevo's predictions are, they are wrong."
Fluorescent_Imp on 606
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That's the easiest prediction of all time! I'm going for it today - Czech Republic 1-3 Portugal and Switzerland 1-1 Turkey. Beat that.
1612: So, Czech Republic have made two changes from their opening win over Switzerland. Giant striker Jan Koller has made way for Milan Baros, while midfielder Marek Matejovsky comes in for David Jarolim. The Portuguese are unchanged, with the irrepressible Cristiano Ronaldo aiming to build on his performance in the win over Turkey and further stamp his audacious mark on Euro 2008.
1609: Now it's time for seconds. Group A, which failed to sparkle on Saturday, has a chance to redeem itself. First up we've got the potentially mouth-watering Czech Republic v Portugal in Geneva, the Dark Horse Derby, at 1700 BST. Then, at 1945 BST, hosts Switzerland face Turkey in Basel, with both teams trying to pick up their first points of the competition. There's a bit of history there too, more of which later. You don't need me to tell you to get texting in on 81111 and join the debate on 606.
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1605: No wonder I'm buzzing. We are right into the meat of this tournament now and it has properly taken off. Spain followed the Netherlands' lead in devastating fashion with a display of mesmerising verve and style, complete with a world-class hat-trick from the quicksilver David Villa. And then, just as Greece attempted to kill football once more, the so often infuriating talent of Zlatan Ibrahimovic rendered their efforts point-less and pointless with a goal of pure genius. The Euros are alive!
1602: TEAM NEWS Czech Republic v Portugal
Czech Republic: Cech, Grygera, Ujfalusi, Rozehnal, Jankulovski, Galasek, Sionko, Matejovsky, Polak, Plasil, Baros.
Portugal: Ricardo, Bosingwa, Pepe, Carvalho, Ferreira, Petit, Joao Moutinho, Ronaldo, Deco, Simao, Nuno Gomes.
1600: Yesterday after my Euro Two Thousand And Great shift I went home and watched Match of the Day. When I woke up this morning, I turned my telly on, pressed the red button and watched the highlights of Spain 4-1 Russia (twice) and Greece 0-2 Sweden again. On my way into work just now, I found myself for the first time humming the BBC's theme tune for the Euros, dance group Unkle's version of Mozart Symphony no. 41. I think I'm in love.
BIG MATCH STATS
Head-to-heads
Czech Republic (including Czechoslovakia) and Portugal have met on 11 occasions, with the Czechs winning four matches and Portugal winning three times. However, their first ever meeting in January 1926 (1-1) is not recognised as an official international by the Czech Federation.
Their last ever meeting was in the quarter-final of Euro 1996 when the Czechs won 1-0 courtesy of a Karel Poborsky goal.
Team facts - Czech Republic
Deployed their oldest starting line-up in this competition in their opening match against Switzerland. At 29 years and 298 days, their line-up beats the previous oldest starting eleven from 1980 by more than a year.
The win against Switzerland was Karel Bruckner's 50th victory in his 74-match reign as Czech national team boss.
Won their last six competitive matches and are unbeaten in their last eight.
Team facts - Portugal
By beating Turkey in their opening match, Portugal extended their unbeaten streak in competitive matches to 12, their joint second best ever.
Between September 2004 and July 2006, Portugal were unbeaten in 17 competitive matches. Their last defeat in a competitive match was in a Euro 2008 qualifier in Poland (2-1) on 11 October 2006.
Never been awarded a penalty at European Championships. This running streak of 20 matches is a tournament record.
Player facts - Czech Republic
Goalkeeper Petr Cech will meet his Chelsea team mates Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho.
Player facts - Portugal
Against Turkey, Nuno Gomes equalled a Portuguese record by appearing in his third European Championship, a total also achieved by Fernando Couto, Luís Figo and Rui Costa.
If Nuno Gomes scores, he will become the third player to score in three different European Championships, joining Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) and Vladimir Smicer (Czech Republic). Thierry Henry (France) and Henrik Larsson (Sweden) can also achieve this feat at Euro 2008.
Miscellaneous Info
The Czechs have a good record in matches led by referee Kyros Vassaras.
In 2000, they won a 2002 World Cup qualifier against Iceland (4-0) and in September 2007 a Euro 2008 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland (1-0).
Portugal also have fond memories of referee Vassaras. They beat Sweden (2-3) in a friendly in 2002, crushed Russia (7-1) in a World Cup qualifier in 2004 and recorded a 4-0 win against Belgium in a Euro 2008 qualifier in March 2007.
Big Match Stats source: Infostrada Sports
(BBC)
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