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UEFA EURO 2008 GROUP A
Switzerland v Portugal (1945 BST)
Turkey v Czech Republic (1945 BST)
GOALFLASHES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS (all times BST)
To get involved use 606 or text us your views & comments on 81111.
(Not all contributions can be used) By Jonathan Stevenson
1905: LINE-UPS Portugal v Switzerland
Portugal: Ricardo, Pepe, Miguel, Meira, Ferreira, Alves, Veloso, Meireles, Quaresma, Postiga, Nani.
Switzerland: Zuberbuhler, Senderos, Muller, Magnin, Lichtsteiner, Yakin, Inler, Gelson, Behrami, Vonlanthen, Derdiyok.
1904: Does anyone want a Stevo prediction then?
1900: Team news: Just one change then for the Czechs, with the even less mobile than usual Jan Koller back in the side in place of Milan Baros. Baros hasn't scored for 11 internationals, so it's a difficult choice between the two of them. For Turkey team news, see 1821.
1857: LINE-UPS Turkey v Czech Republic
Turkey: Demirel; Altintop, Gungor, Cetin, Balta; Tuncay, Topal, Aurelio, Turan; Senturk, Nihat.
Czech Republic: Cech; Grygera, Ujfalusi, Rozehnal, Jankulovski; Sionko, Polak, Matejovsky, Galasek, Plasil; Koller.
1854: "I don't need two tellys as I got my dad downstairs who will be shouting when a goal goes in and a brother upstairs watching the other game and shouting when a goal goes in. I'm in the middle having to revise for an exam tomorrow but at least I'll know the score."
JayNandha on 606
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I hope your brother is letting your dad watch the Czech game. And also, why not just chance your arm in the exam? Surely it's more important to watch history in the making than learn some stuff about stuff that you'll have forgotten in 24 hours?
1852: "Switzerland will win 3-0, no questions asked."
boydy262 on 606
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I'm sure some questions will be asked of the Portuguese defence if that happens, boydy262 my friend.
1848: But all eyes and I'm happy to say our major focus will of course be on Czech Republic and Turkey. The Turks haven't got a great record against the Czechs - they haven't won in their last 11 meetings and their only win in 14 overall was a 1-0 triumph in December 1958. Can they do the business half a century later?
1842: What a prospect we have in Geneva, but don't forget there is another game tonight. Unlucky co-hosts Switzerland bow out of the competition as they meet many people's tip to win the big prize, Portugal, in Basel. Can a European Championship finals match be meaningless? No, of course not. How could you even ask?
1837: Great news from Johannesburg earlier, with Cape Verde Islands beating Mauritius 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier thanks to a 43rd-minute penalty from, wait for it... Eduardo 'Dady' Gomes. Only on Fathers' Day could such a thing happen.
1834: "(See 1812) Another telly? I'll have one playing through my laptop and the other through my tv next to it! Glorious football, what more could I ask of a Sunday evening?"
Michael, Ipswich fan, in Norwich, via text
Nothing. Though I have just ordered a kebab, so I guess you could do the same.
1830: Sorry, went a bit Terry's all bold there. Gutted. Anyway, get your contributions in and tell your dad to do the same. Text me your thoughts on 81111 and join the debate on 606. Do we want penalties? Well I do, but then I just love drama. Tell you what, watching this tournament as a neutral ain't half a lot of fun.
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1826: "I have a bet on Baros to score first and the Czechs to win 2-0. Do you think it's possible Jon?"
Curranso8 on 606
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Mate, that's the beauty of football - anything's possible.
1821: We've got you the earliest team news ever, but only because Turkey coach Fatih Terim named his side yesterday. Striker Semih Senturk's exploits as a sub against Switzerland have earned him a starting place, while Emre Gungor and Mehmet Topal also come into the side with Emre Asik, Gokdeniz Karadeniz and Tumer Metin making way.
1817: Welcome, to our coverage of (possible) history. A very warm welcome indeed to all the dads out there, hope you're having an unforgettable Fathers' Day and what better way to finish it off than with a bit of Euros chat? Fret not punters, I got my card off to Mr Stevo snr in plenty of time and spent some minutes chewing the fat on the phone with the great man earlier. His first question? 'Do you reckon Forest will sign anyone from the Euros?' Maybe an Austrian striker, was all I could think. Happy Father's Day dad.
1812: So, the days of two separate games are over. For the next four days, we've got simultaneous matches kicking off at 1945 BST. Which begs the question, have you bought another telly yet?
1808: "No extra-time, just penalties. It's like the Johnstone's Paint Trophy but awesome."
My boss Dan, a Bristol Rovers fan
1805: As I'm sure we all know by now, Czech Republic and Turkey are shortly going to be involved in The Great Group A Eliminator 2008, as they're sure to be calling it. They've both played two games, won one, lost one, scored two, conceded three. If they dare draw in Geneva today, they face penalties. No extra-time, just penalties. It would be history in the making.
1800: A penalty shoot-out? In a group game, you say? Is this some sort of Euro Two Thousand And Great wind-up?
BIG MATCH STATS
Head-to-heads
Turkey and Czech Republic have met each other on 14 previous occasions with Czech Republic winning 10 times and Turkey once.
Czech Republic are unbeaten in 11 consecutive encounters with Turkey (nine wins and two draws).
This will be their first meeting at a European Championship.
Team facts - Turkey
Wednesday's 2-1 win against Switzerland was only Turkey's second victory in nine European Championship matches.
Since the introduction of the knock-out stages in 1984, seven teams have survived the group stage after losing their opening match. Turkey achieved this feat at Euro 2000, where they reached the quarter-final despite losing their opening match of the tournament.
Team facts - Czech Republic
Since the introduction of the knock-out stages in 1984, there have been seven occasions on which a team failed to qualify for the next round despite winning the first group match.
Wednesday's 3-1 defeat to Portugal ended a streak of six straight wins in competitive matches and an unbeaten run of eight matches.
A penalty shoot-out could be necessary to decide who qualifies for the next round. Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic have been involved in three penalty shoot-outs in European Championships, winning all three. They beat West Germany in the 1976 final, Italy in the 1980 bronze medal match and France in the 1996 semi-final.
Player facts - Turkey
Tuncay Sanli, Mehmet Aurelio, Hakan Balta, Gokhan Zan, Colin Kazim-Richards and Sabri Sarioglu will miss a possible quarter-final match if they receive a yellow card.
Player facts - Czech Republic
Libor Sionko has scored three goals in the Czech Republic's last three matches. He scored twice in their warm-up friendly against Scotland (3-1) and also scored in the 3-1 defeat against Portugal.
Jan Polak is the only Czech player with a yellow card behind his name.
Miscellaneous Info
Referee Peter Frojdfeldt has been in charge of one match involving Turkey. In June 2007 he led their European Championship qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which Turkey lost 3-2.
Big Match Stats source: Infostrada Sports
(BBC)
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