UEFA Euro 2008 Group B
Group B of UEFA Euro 2008 was one of four groups of competing nations at UEFA Euro 2008. The first of the three rounds of matches were played on 8 June, and the final round was completed on 16 June. All six of the group's matches were played at venues in Austria, in Vienna and Klagenfurt. The group is made up of four central European nations; co-hosts Austria, as well as Croatia, Germany and Poland. Austria and Poland are appearing in a European Championship finals for the first time.
Croatia became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals from Group B when they followed up a 1–0 win against Austria in their first match with a 2–1 win over Germany. This, in conjunction with Austria's 1–1 draw with Poland, meant that Croatia would finish top of the group. The second quarter-final spot was decided by the group's final games, with Germany defeating Austria through a Michael Ballack free kick, making the result of the Poland vs Croatia match irrelevant. Had Germany lost, Poland could still have qualified with a win over Croatia. However, a goal from Ivan Klasnić won the game for Croatia, making the Croatians the first team to gain maximum points in the group stage.
Teams
Draw position | Team | Pot | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
UEFA Rankings | FIFA Rankings June 2008 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 2007[nb 1] | May 2008[nb 2] | |||||||||
B1 | 1 | Co-host | 12 December 2002 | 1st | — | Debut | 27 | 29 | 92 | |
B2 | 2 | Group E winner | 17 November 2007 | 3rd | 2004 | Quarter-finals (1996) | 2 | 11 | 15 | |
B3 | 3 | Group D runner-up | 13 October 2007 | 10th | 2004 | Winners (1972, 1980, 1996) | 7 | 4 | 5 | |
B4 | 4 | Group A winner | 17 November 2007 | 1st | — | Debut | 12 | 13 | 28 |
Notes
- The UEFA rankings of November 2007 were used for seeding for the final draw.
- UEFA unveiled a new ranking system in May 2008 based on results up to November 2007.
- From 1972 to 1988, Germany competed as West Germany.
Standings
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 9 | Advance to knockout phase | |
2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | ||
3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | ||
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1[lower-alpha 1] |
- Tied on head-to-head result (Austria 1–1 Poland). Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.
In the quarter-finals,
Matches
Austria vs Croatia
Austria[2]
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Croatia[2]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Germany vs Poland
Germany[4]
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Poland[4]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Croatia vs Germany
Croatia[6]
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Germany[6]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Austria vs Poland
Austria[8]
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Poland[8]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Poland vs Croatia
Poland[10]
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Croatia[10]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Austria vs Germany
Austria[12]
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Germany[12]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Notes
- Both Hickersberger and Löw were expelled by the referee in the 41st minute.
References
- "Full-time report Austria-Croatia" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- "Team Line-ups – Group B – Austria-Croatia" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- "Full-time report Germany-Poland" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- "Team Line-ups – Group B – Germany-Poland" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- "Full-time report Croatia-Germany" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- "Team Line-ups – Group B – Croatia-Germany" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- "Full-time report Austria-Poland" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- "Team Line-ups – Group B – Austria-Poland" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- "Full-time report Poland-Croatia" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- "Team Line-ups – Group B – Poland-Croatia" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- "Full-time report Austria-Germany" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- "Team Line-ups – Group B – Austria-Germany" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2012.