Hakan Yakin’s brace ended Portugal’s 100 per cent record and gave co-hosts Switzerland the opportunity to bow out with a win. The Portuguese didn’t impress, also because they were largely relying on their reserves.

Switzerland had all the motivation needed to do well and save their reputation in front of their fans. Jakob Kuhn kept his favourite 4-4-2 formation but made some changes to the starting XI. Pascal Zuberbuhler took the gloves instead of Diego Benaglio. Experienced defender Ludovic Magnin kept his place alongside Philippe Senderos. Tranquillo Barnetta was left out with Brescia ace Johan Vonlanthen stepping in.

As expected, Luiz Scolari opted for a reshuffle changing eight players out of the starting formation which beat the Czech Republic and Turkey. Ricardo retained his place as did Pepe and Paulo Ferreira. Miguel covered the right-back spot while defender Fernando Meira started as a central midfielder. Starlet Miguel Veloso was also picked while an untested trident formed by Ricardo Quaresma, Helder Postiga and Nani lined up front.

The game started at a decent pace with both teams looking inspired and up for a fight. The Swiss were particularly aggressive and tried to keep it tight at the back, which wasn’t easy against such a fast and talented side such as the Portuguese team.

Quaresma showed all his skills by crossing the ball for Helder Postiga with a rabona, but the striker was offside. Nani also tried to find his way on the right flank but the Manchester United starlet was brought down in the box by Stephan Lichtsteiner – it should have been a penalty.

Switzerland came out of their half with a corner kick and Valon Behrami’s volley was saved by Ricardo. A few minutes later Pepe had a golden chance following a free-kick from Nani which was touched by the defender and then deflected into the bar by ‘keeper Zuberbuhler. Bruno Alves also got a free header but missed his opportunity.

Gokhan Inler scared the Portuguese with a powerful long distance shot, but then Helder Postiga could have brought them ahead on the break when his effort was cleared off the line by Senderos. Yakin was booked shortly after due to a foul just outside the box but the consequent free-kick didn’t create any danger.

Behrami looked in good shape and managed to get past Ferreira, who brought him down with a nasty tackle and was fortunate to only see a yellow card. The Lazio player was carried out injured but then managed to walk back in to the pitch although he was still struggling.

A few minutes later a cross from the right side was headed brilliantly by Yakin forcing Ricardo to make another impressive save. Just before half-time Jorge Riberio stepped in to replace Ferreira, who seemed quite tense and risked a second booking and ban ahead of the quarter-finals.

Nani felt he should have been awarded another penalty when Patrick Muller pulled him by the shirt, but once again the referee didn’t intervene. Then Postiga elbowed Inler, who was bleeding, but it didn’t seem like the striker intended to foul the Udinese midfielder.

Switzerland started the second half with a good attitude creating two chances with Vonlanthen and Inler. But Portugal went incredibly close to taking the lead when Nani received the ball from Veloso and fired onto the right post. Quaresma nearly got himself into trouble when he hit Magnin with his studs and was then denied by Zuberbuhler.

Former Brescia youngster Vonlanthen made way for Tranquillo Barnetta and the Swiss came out with authority. Inler’s terrific effort smacked against the side of the post. The Udinese ace looked in fantastic form tonight. Switzerland were piling the pressure and took the lead with Yakin who managed to beat Ricardo following a lob pass from Eren Derdiyok.

As the local fans were celebrating, Portugal came out strong hoping to rescue themselves from the first defeat in the championship. Hugo Almeida went in for Postiga while Joao Moutinho had replaced Veloso only a couple of minutes earlier. Quaresma could have equalised but wasn’t clinical enough and lost the ball on the edge of the box.

Then just as the game was entering the final minutes, Fernando Meira brought Barnetta down in the box and Yakin had no trouble beating Ricardo from the penalty spot. Yakin was then replaced by Ricardo Cabanas in order to receive a standing ovation from the fans.

Despite losing this game, Portugal ended top of Group A and will be facing the second placed team from Group B in the quarter-finals. Euro 2008 co-hosts Switzerland are bottom of the group but managed to earn the appreciation of their fans thanks to this final victory in Basel against a team which may end up winning this championship.
Switzerland: Zuberbuhler; Lichtsteiner (Grichting 84), Muller, Senderos, Magnin; Behrami, Inler, Fernandes, Vonlanthen (Barnetta 61); Derdiyok, Yakin (Cabanas 86)

Portugal: Ricardo; Miguel, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Ferreira (Ribeiro 42); Meira, Veloso (Joao Moutinho 70), Meireles; Quaresma, Nani; Helder Postiga (Hugo Almeida 74)

Ref: Plautz (Aus)

Ref From channel4.com

Turkey emerged from the thunderstorm in Basel victorious thanks to a dramatic injury-time winner from Arda Turan, but co-hosts Switzerland are left wondering would could have been after surrendering their half-time lead and slumping out of the competition after just two games.

Turkey boss Fatih Terim made a number of changes to his team following their opening day defeat to Portugal, switching to a 4-3-1-2 formation. Three of those changes were forced on him by injuries to Emre Belozoglu, Gokhan Zan and Colin Kazim-Richards, while Tumer Metin replaced Mevlut Erding to provide more support for strikers Nihat Kahveci and Tuncay Sunli.

Switzerland made changes of their own in attack following the tournament ending knee injury suffered by captain Alexander Frei during the Czech Republic loss. To compensate for that absence Coach Kobi Kuhn gave Hakan Yakin and Eren Derdiyok the nod up front, dropping Marco Streller.

A furiously fast paced start to the match saw both teams surging forward, but neither side could find the space in the final third to carve out a clear-cut chance in the early stages. Hakan Balta had to briefly step off the field after just 10 minutes after a clash of heads left him with a nasty cut to the side of the head, but he was soon back on without any lasting signs of injury.

The game slowed after the frantic start as the weather started to deteriorate, with heavy rain and a strong wind hindering play. As the conditions continued to worsen the game started to become scrappy and the fouls increased.

Tuncay tried to worm his way through the Swiss defence, but couldn’t find room to turn and Philippe Senderos eventually slid the ball clear. Arda Turan’s cross caused problems in the Switzerland penalty area, but the ball was scrambled clear and Yakin’s low drive on the counter-attack forced a good save from Volkan Demirel low at the near post.

Volkan was soon called into action again as Switzerland were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position. Tranquillo Barnetta’s low effort had the Turkish ‘keeper at full stretch to steer it round his left-hand post with a fingertip save.

Udinese midfielder Gokhan Inler was penalised for blocking Tuncay right on the edge of the Swiss penalty area following a purposeful run by the Middlesbrough forward. Goalkeeper Diego Benaglio failed to deal with the resulting free-kick and Arda’s header skimmed the wrong side of the post.

As the first half-an-hour drew to a close the conditions were approaching unplayable as an increasingly waterlogged pitch slowed down the ball. Switzerland found the breakthrough tough after Derdiyok broke the offside trap and rounded Volkan before squaring the ball across the goal-line for Yakin to tap into the open net, although ball stopped in a goalmouth puddle and nearly didn’t reach the FC Basel star at the back post.

Yakin missed an almost identical chance just three minutes later when a Valon Behrami cross found it’s way all the way through to him at the back post, but this time he inexplicably knocked the ball wide from inside the six-yard box. Turkey tried to push back and Gokdeniz Karadeniz got on to the end of a great high ball from Arda, but couldn’t bring it under control and Ludovic Magnin cleared the threat.

Amazingly the torrential downpour came to a sudden end during the half-time break and the stadium staff in Basel frantically tried to clear the standing water from the pitch. However, UEFA made an announcement that if the weather got any worse in the second 45 minutes then the match would be abandoned and replayed the next day.

With his team struggling to combat the difficult conditions, Turkish Coach Terim made the brave decision to use two of his available substitutes at the break, with Semih Senturk and Mehmet Topal replacing Gokdeniz and Tumer Metin.

They threatened straight away with an Arda free-kick whipped towards the penalty spot, but Hakan was booked for knocking the ball on with his hand. Turkey were pushing men forward in search of the equaliser they desperately needed and Semih thought he had found it as he rolled the ball past Benaglio, but the whistle had already gone for offside.

Five minutes later he was celebrating, though. Nihat curled a deep cross towards the penalty spot and Semih drifted round the back of Magnin and Senderos to power the header through the hands of Benaglio in the Swiss goal. The co-hosts tried to hit straight back, but Hakan made an excellent last-ditch challenge to toe the loose ball out of Yakin’s path.

The game closed down as the midfield battle got into full stride, but Johan Vonlanthen nearly made an immediate impact after coming on as a substitute, but Servet Cetin stepped in to halt his mazy run at the last moment. Turkey responded as Tuncay was released, but his angled cross-cum-short was just too far ahead of Nihat sliding in at the back post.

The pressure was mounting as the game entered the last 10 minutes, with both sides looking nervous as they pushed for the winner knowing that conceding a goal at the other end would all but guarantee their elimination from the tournament.

Switzerland nearly found the breakthrough on the break when Inler slide the ball through for Vonlanthen, who laid the ball off for Yakin to strike but his low effort was too close to Volkan to find the back of the net. They were given another chance from a free-kick after Inler was tripped by Semih on the edge of the Turkish penalty area, but Magnin’s shot was deflected wide by the wall.

The end of the game was delayed by a cut to the head of Turkey defender Emre Asik as the fourth official displayed the four minutes of added time to a huge roar from the crowd. But two minutes after the end of 90 minutes Arda delivered the knockout blow to Switzerland. He cut inside from the left wing and his shot was deflected off Patrick Muller to loop over the helpless Benaglio and into the net.

There was no time left for the Swiss to hit back, meaning the co-hosts are the first team to be eliminated from the tournament, while all now rests on Turkey’s match against the Czech Republic on Sunday. This result also hands Portugal the mathematical victory in Group A and a place in the quarter-finals.
Swizerland: Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Mueller, Senderos, Magnin; Barnetta (Vonlanthen 66), Inler, Fernandes (Cabana 76), Behrami; Hakan Yakin (Gygax 85), Derdiyok

Turkey: Volkan; Altintop, Servet Cetin, Hakan Balta; Emre Asik, Arda, Tumer Metin (Mehmet Topal 46), Gokdeniz Karadeniz (Semih Santurk 46), Mehmet Aurelio; Tuncay Sanli, Nihat (Kazim-Richards 85)

Ref: Michel (Svk)

Ref From channel4.com

Switzerland’s influential captain Alexander Frei has been ruled out of the rest of Euro 2008 with the knee injury he suffered in the opening game.

Frei, 28, limped off in tears during the 1-0 defeat against the Czech Republic on Saturday.

Swiss team doctor Cuno Wetzel told a news conference on Sunday that Frei would be out for six weeks with a partially ruptured, left knee ligament.

“He was an important player. He was a goal-getter.” said coach Koebi Kuhn.

“But he’s out. We have to move forward.”

Wetzel added: “Alex Frei knew immediately that he had been hurt badly.”

The doctor said Frei would speak publicly on Monday, but now wanted “to have some time to himself”.

The Borussia Dortmund forward missed much of the Bundesliga season because of injuries.

He has had a hip operation, two muscle tears and a calf injury in the last 13 months, but had battled back to full fitness in recent weeks.

Petr Cech admits his side had some luck against the Swiss
Frei suffered the injury in a challenge with Czech defender Zdenek Grygera shortly before half-time in the opening game of the tournament.

After the game he was sent to hospital for a scan and Kuhn said: “It is a shock, a disaster to lose our captain in the first game - I can only hope it is not too serious.”

Frei became Switzerland’s all-time top goalscorer last week when he scored his 35th goal in 59 internationals, and was seen as vital to the team’s chances of getting out of a tough group that includes Portugal and Turkey.

“He’s our best striker, we need him back in the team,” defender Johan Djourou said after the match.

“We will take a lot of confidence from the way we played against the Czechs, especially in the first half, but if we lose Alex it will be very difficult to get back into the tournament.”

Meanwhile, Kuhn said his team should be proud of their display, despite the defeat.

“I told them they can leave the stadium with their heads held high,” stated Kuhn, who will step down as coach at the end of the tournament.

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

Kuhn added: “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.

“We had the chances to at least have drawn the match, and we could easily have won it but that is football, it is not about justice. This game is over for us now but not the Euros.”

Ref From BBC SPORT